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World :: Six Children Killed In Kabul Suicide Blast

A suicide bomber has blown himself up near Nato's headquarters in Kabul, killing at least six children, according to police in Afghanistan.

The blast happened in the city's diplomatic quarter, where the American and Italian embassies are located, as well as the presidential palace.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the bombing was carried out by a 28-year-old militant from Logar province, south of Kabul.

But Kabul deputy police chief Daud Amin said eyewitnesses reported seeing a teenage boy walking in the area carrying a bag.

A police spokesman said the dead and wounded were all street sellers and odd jobs boys aged between 12 and 17.

The blast came as Afghans marked the 11th anniversary of the death of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the popular Northern Alliance commander who was killed in an al Qaeda suicide bombing two days before the September 11 attacks.

The alliance joined with the United States to help rout the Taliban after America invaded Afghanistan a month later in the wake of the attacks.

Ramsay added: "It’s a Bank Holiday, the Taliban have a tendency to try to mark these occasions with some type of attack.

"Various ministers who are celebrating (the memorial day) are moving around the city and it’s quite possible that this suicide bomber was trying to hit one of the convoys of cars moving around the city."