The tankers were set ablaze as they sat in a parking lot waiting to enter the Afghan capital, which is currently gripped by a fraud dispute over presidential elections last month.
Taliban insurgents fighting a 13-year-war against US-led forces in Afghanistan often attack western supply convoys and claimed responsibility for the late yesterday night attack.
"At around 10:30 pm dozens of fuel tankers belonging to private companies caught fire," Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai told AFP.
Kabul police director Gul Aghan Hashimi said a magnetic bomb had been used in the attack while a NATO-led International Security Assistance Forces spokesman said they were investigating whether the fuel was intended for foreign troops.
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The Afghan interior ministry said initial investigations found that 200 trucks had been damaged.
The incident took place in Chawk-e Arghandi and comes as the Taliban steps up attacks with NATO forces due to complete their withdrawal from the country by the end of the year.
Also yesterday, ISAF said a rocket attack at the United States' main military base at Bagram Airfield had resulted in "minor damages to equipment and one building".
It came just a day after Taliban insurgents fired rockets into Kabul airport, destroying the Afghan president's parked helicopter and damaging three other choppers.
On Wednesday, a Taliban suicide bomber in Kabul killed eight military officers travelling on a military bus.
The attacks underlined security fears in the capital which has been relatively peaceful since the June 14 presidential runoff between Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani.