An apparent car-bomb exploded in an eastern Afghan city Wednesday, killing the driver, hours before US first lady Laura Bush was due in the country.

The car exploded at about 8:30 AM in Jalalabad, 128 kilometers east of the capital Kabul, intelligence chief Bahram Khan said.

Khan said investigators suspected the driver had been planning a suicide attack, but that the bomb detonated prematurely. No one else was injured.

Laura Bush arrived in the country for a five-hour visit early Wednesday with plans to visit women who are training to be teachers and others who have made a business of selling handicrafts. She was also to meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and have dinner with US troops stationed at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul.

Mrs. Bush had wanted to visit Afghanistan for a couple of years but delayed the journey, mostly because of security concerns. US President George W. Bush has not yet visited the country.

(Shenzhen Daily via agencies March 31, 2005)