Suicide bomber blows up car in Kabul, several killed

(Adds quote, details)

KABUL, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber set off explosives inside a car near an Afghan government security office in Kabul on Saturday, a military spokesman said, and eyewitnesses said a number of people were killed.

General Zahir Azimi, a Defence Ministry spokesman, said the suicide bomber had detonated two rockets.

Another defence ministry official said he had heard two blasts.

"The first one was small, but the second one really shook the city," the official said.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the bombing, but the Taliban rely heavily on suicide raids and roadside bomb attacks as part of their insurgency against the Afghan government and foreign troops.

In early December, Taliban suicide bombers attacked twice around the time of a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

A bomber slammed his car into a bus filled with Afghan soldiers in Kabul on Dec. 5, killing 13 people. On Dec. 4, a NATO convoy was hit by a similar attack close to the capital's international airport. There were no casualties among NATO forces, but 22 Afghans were wounded, according to NATO.

The worst suicide attack in Kabul hit an army bus in September and killed 28 army personnel.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the past two years, the bloodiest period since the Taliban's overthrow in 2001, and an increasing number of Afghans are frustrated with the lack of progress toward peace. (Reporting by John Hemming; editing by Grant McCool)