Scores of people have been killed and more than 350 wounded in a rush hour car bombing near foreign embassies in Kabul.

The death toll - which includes a BBC Afghan driver - is expected to rise after the devastating blast in the Afghan capital, which damaged the German and French embassies.

The Afghan government said 90 people had been confirmed dead in the still-unclaimed early morning suicide attack, which comes during the first week of Ramadan.

BBC Afghan driver Mohammed Nazir died and four BBC journalists suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the corporation announced.

BBC World Service director Francesca Unsworth said Mr Nazir, who had worked for the BBC for four years, was driving his colleagues to their office at the time and described his death as a "devastating loss".

Witnesses said they saw crowds gathered around ambulances that carried the dead and wounded to hospitals, trying to identify bodies.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel confirmed embassy staff were among those injured in the powerful explosion.

He said at least one Afghan security guard was killed in the 8.25am (3.55am GMT) attack in Zanbaq Square as he condemned the blast.

"It hit civilians and those who are in Afghanistan to work for a better future for the country with the people there.

"It's especially contemptible that these people were the target," he said.

A French minister said there were no reports of French staff being hurt.

No group has yet said it carried out the attack.

Clouds of black smoke could be seen rising above the city centre, close to the presidential palace and foreign embassies after the blast.

A police spokesperson said the intended target remained unclear.

"It was a car bomb near the German embassy, but there are several other important compounds and offices near there too," he said.

"It is hard to say what the exact target is."

The explosion was so strong it shattered windows and blew doors off their hinges in homes hundreds of metres away.