Police and troops sealed off a block of Afghanistan's main jail for

a second day after inmates, some from the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, went on a rampage that officials said left at least four people dead.

Hundreds of heavily armed soldiers and police surrounded the block in the Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of the capital. There were requests for food and medicine from inside the building which accommodates around 1,300 prisoners, authorities said.

A police official and another involved in negotiations with the prisoners said on condition of anonymity that there were four bodies inside the complex and around 30 wounded.

The inmates had not handed the injured over for treatment and Deputy Justice Minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai said it was difficult to know the exact situation until authorities were able to enter the block.

Security forces were reluctant to enter the complex because many

inmates appeared to have armed themselves with makeshift weapons including steel bedposts.

The riot erupted late Saturday when prisoners attacked wardens and set bedding and furniture ablaze.

They smashed windows and doors and ripped holes in walls separating units for women, criminals and political prisoners -- including those from Al-Qaeda and Taliban.

The rioters appeared to have no clear goals Sunday but by early Monday a list of demands had been presented to government officials, a police official and defence ministry source said.

They included complaints about overcrowding, prison food and the separation of prisoners from their visitors, the police official said.

The list also alleged that criminals were able to use bribes to avoid jail and that inmates had been arrested because of ethnic rivalries.

Some reports said the unrest may have been sparked by resistance to new prison uniforms, which would reportedly distinguish between political and criminal prisoners. Others said the riot was a bid by Taliban prisoners to escape.

PHOTO CAPTION

Afghan National Army soldiers arrive at the high-security Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul. (AFP)