KABUL (AFP) - About 1,300 prisoners, many of them from Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, seized control of a block at Afghanistan's main jail Sunday after a riot in which more than 20 inmates were hurt, officials said.

The riot at the Pul-e-Charkhi prison on the outskirts of the capital erupted late Saturday when prisoners clashed with guards and then set alight mattresses and beds, Deputy Justice Minister Mohammad Qasim Hashimzai told AFP.

Several prison blocks were destroyed in the fire and windows and doors were smashed, said human rights official Nader Nadeery.

Prison guards opened fire to stop the unrest spreading throughout the huge complex, Hashimzai said.

"According to the prison guards, four to five people have been wounded but according to the rioters, they say they have 20 people who are wounded," he said. A prison guard was also slightly wounded.

"We cannot confirm anybody is dead," Hashimzai said.

Nadeery, from the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission helping to negotiate with the prisoners, said he had been told there were 31 casualties which could include fatalities.

The prisoners were refusing to hand over the injured for treatment, Hashimzai said.

"They have control of the wounded prisoners and they are not giving them to us so that we can treat them. We have doctors and ambulances ready here," he said.

The rioters had broken through walls separating different sections of the block, including a women's section, and "have joined together and organised a riot," he said.