Suicide bomber kills 10 near Afghan capital: interior ministry

Ten people were killed in Afghanistan Wednesday when a suicide bomber on foot detonated his explosives, striking a vehicle carrying court employees near the capital Kabul, the interior ministry said.

"A suicide bomber blew himself up... in Paghman district, killing 10 people and wounding four others," ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but security forces and Afghan government employees are frequently targeted by Taliban insurgents.

The blast came as the Taliban announced the appointment of influential religious figure Haibatullah Akhundzada as their new leader, in a statement that also confirmed former supremo Mullah Akhtar Mansour's death in a US drone strike on Saturday.