It also comes just weeks before the bulk of more than 2,000 Canadian troops are to take up their positions near the former Taliban stronghold.
A military explosives expert said the bomb was "very large" and its discovery "a gold mine for investigators" looking for forensic evidence.
It happened Wednesday night when Afghan police came across an abandoned car on a road frequently used by coalition forces, just three or four kilometres from the Canadian base.
A suicide car bomb attack killed a Canadian diplomat and injured three Canadian soldiers on the weekend. (CP photo)
Inside the car they saw at least four artillery shells. When Canadian troops arrived, they discovered not four shells but a dozen in the back of the car, under the seat and on the floor.
All the driver had to do was flick a switch, then honk the horn to detonate the bomb.
According to a military spokesman "it was very simple, very basic design."
It was also big enough, with 125 kilograms of explosives, to kill and cause a lot of damage in a wide area.
There have been as many as 30 suicide attacks in Afghanistan in the last four months and there is a feeling that Taliban fighters may be trying to destabilize coalition forces as NATO prepares to send in fresh troops in the coming weeks.
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