KABUL, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - Around 10 people were killed in a powerful explosion caused by a suicide bomber near the Indian Embassy in Kabul on Thursday morning, a police source told RIA Novosti.

The blast was strong enough to be felt in the Russian Embassy compound on the other side of the Afghan capital. The Indian Embassy, located opposite the Interior Ministry, was the site of the Afghan capital's deadliest suicide attack, which killed more than 50 people in July 2008.

Police said early reports indicated that the detonation of a car packed with explosives killed around 10 people and injured several dozen, with a number of small shops destroyed.

Afghan health ministry representatives said seven dead bodies had been taken to nearby hospitals, as well as tens of injured people.

Violence has increased in Afghanistan in recent months as Taliban militants sought to disrupt August's presidential elections.

U.S. President Barack Obama is reviewing a request from his top general in Afghanistan for as many as 40,000 additional troops to fight a counterinsurgency campaign against the militants.