Afghan officials say a suicide bomber has attacked a supermarket frequented by foreigners in the capital, Kabul, killing at least nine people.
Kabul police chief Mohammad Ayub Salangi said three female foreigners and a child are among the dead. At least six others were wounded in the blast.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they were targeting foreigners and employees of the U.S.-based private security firm formerly known as Blackwater, and now called Xe ((Zee)) Services.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack calling it an attack "against Islam."
TV reports show the building largely destroyed. Witnesses say the attacker opened fire inside the store before blowing himself up. The supermarket is located in the Wazir Akbar Khan area, where most foreigners in Kabul live.
Friday's attack was the first major strike against foreigners in Kabul since last May when 18 people, including six NATO soldiers – five Americans and one Canadian – were killed in a suicide bombing against a NATO convoy. Twelve Afghan civilians also died in that attack.