KABUL (AFP) - A Taliban suicide bomb hit a European Union police vehicle in Kabul on Monday, killing at least one passer-by but not injuring any passengers, officials said, days after the Nato combat mission ended in Afghanistan.

The blast, which was heard across the city, was the first major attack since the New Year when US-led Nato forces downgraded from a combat mission to support and training duties helping the Afghan army and police.

The European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL) works to improve the country's civilian police force, one of the many efforts to try to boost security as international troops withdraw.

"A EUPOL vehicle was involved in a vehicle borne suicide attack whilst it was travelling east on the Jalalabad Road in Kabul," the mission said in a statement.

"The vehicle's occupants were uninjured." "Six civilians were wounded, one later died of his wounds in hospital," Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanakzai told AFP.

The Taliban, who have waged an insurgency against the international intervention in Afghanistan since 2001, claimed responsibility via a recognised Twitter account.

EUPOL was established in 2007 and has 240 international staff and 187 local staff nationwide.