Flash floods have struck near the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 22 people and inundating farmlands.

Flash floods have struck near the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 22 people and inundating farmlands, said officials, with a mosque, houses and farmland also damaged.

The flooding hit the Shakardara and Paghman districts to the north and west of Kabul after the unseasonal rains left knee-deep water across many parts of the war-battered city.

Authorities confirmed that six of the dead were children and teams of rescuers were scouring the area for survivors.

Around a dozen homes were washed away when the torrential rains struck on Saturday.

Harsh winters and heavy snowfalls often cause swollen rivers that lead to floods in the mountainous country in spring and summer.

But Afghanistan has had one of its hottest summers in decades, and the sudden storms quickly overwhelmed Kabul's poor drainage systems.

Last week flooding in six eastern and southeastern provinces and some districts of the capital killed more than 40 people, destroying hundreds of hectares of farmland and displacing hundreds of people.