Thirteen people were also injured in the blast at the market in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar province, said provincial government spokesman Dawood Ahmadi.

Some of the victims were children, said Interior Ministry spokesman Yousef Stanezai.

A spokesman for NATOled Canadian forces in Kandahar, Major Scott Lundy, said NATO troops had a patrol moving through the area where the blast happened, but no troops were hurt.

``They were close enough to hear the blast,'' he said, adding it was impossible to determine if the convoy was the target.

The attack, one of the deadliest bombings in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, came just days after NATO forces took charge of security in the volatile south from a US-led coalition.

Also on Thursday in Kandahar province, two roadside bombs three hours apart killed one Canadian soldier and wounded four.

Ahmadi said nine shops were burned in fires caused by the explosion in Panjwayi, which happened at around 2:30 pm when the market was busy. He said authorities hadn't yet established the identity of the suicide bomber.