In the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, bomb attacks have killed at least 36 people and injured more than 60 others. Dozens of buildings were destroyed in what many people at first believed was an earthquake. Many casualties have been trapped under the rubble.

The explosions occurred at dusk, shortly after the initial results of the country's presidential elections had been announced. Eyewitnesses say five car bombs exploded simultaneously, in an area that is home to several foreign aid agencies. The target of the attack is not yet clear.

Earlier in the day, four United States soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb. This brings the total number of foreign soldiers killed in the country in 2009 to 295 and makes it the bloodiest year for foreign troops since the US-led invasion to oust the Taliban began in 2001. In the whole of 2008, 294 foreign soldiers died in Afghanistan.

Flag of Afghanistan from Wikimedia Commons