Afghan bomb suspect arrested

Authorities direct the emergency response at the scene of the blast.

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A suspect has been arrested in connection with two car bomb explosions that killed at least 26 people and injured 150 in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, on Thursday.

"The suspect is an Afghan and the driver of the taxi. The investigation is going on. He has not said anything yet to indicate that he had any link with the explosions," Reuters reported Afghan Interior Minister Taj Mohammad Wardak as saying.

Authorities said the first, smaller blast was a ruse to draw curiosity seekers and members of security forces over to see what the commotion was about.

The second blast -- from an explosives-laden taxi -- came minutes later, ripping through the crowd, blowing out windows and scattering debris and body parts across the street.

"Some of our enemies placed some sort of explosive on a bicycle and inside a taxi. The first explosion was triggered by remote control, and after that, a taxi exploded. There are 15 dead," said Abdul Basir Salangi, the security commander in Kabul.

The blasts occurred near the Ministry of Information and Culture, but it was unclear if the building was the intended target.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Christiane Amanpour has more on the deadly explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan -- feared to have been a car bomb. (September 5) Play video   MORE STORIES • Afghan government: Karzai escapes assassin  • Assassination attempt in Afghanistan latest of several    EXTRA INFORMATION The impact of the blasts in Kabul is evident in this gallery of scenes  from the aftermath of the explosions.   RESOURCES On the Scene: Christiane Amanpour

The explosions happened hours before an assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kandahar. Karzai was not injured, however a bodyguard, an unidentified man and the would-be assassin were killed. (Full story)

Bomb target unclear

At least two cars were destroyed in the Kabul explosions and dozens of windows in the nearby ministry were blown out. It was not clear whether the ministry was the target of the blast.

Security officials combed the area looking for other explosive devices.

Several of the casualties were taken to an Italian hospital in the city, but that hospital was reported to have been overwhelmed and was sending the injured to other facilities.

The blast was the most serious incident to hit Kabul since President Hamid Karzai's government took office earlier this year.

It followed a series of warnings from local and international security forces that some kind of action might be imminent in the days before the anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility, although officials mentioned several suspects initially -- including remnants of the country's former Taliban rulers and Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist group.

Others suggested that renegade warlord and former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar may have been involved.

It is not clear whether the suspect is linked to either group.

Earlier this week Hekmatyar issued a call for jihad, or holy war, to drive American and other foreign troops from Afghanistan.

-- CNN Correspondents Christiane Amanpour and Matthew Chance contributed to this report