KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide attacker blew himself up at the entrance of a Kabul shopping mall Monday, killing two people and wounding two others, according to security officials.
"Two guards of the shopping mall have been killed and two others injured," said Gen. Ayoub Salangi, Kabul's police chief.
The attacker detonated his explosives vest after he tried to enter the Western-style mall but faced resistance from the guards.
"I was inside the building when I heard security guards saying a suicide attacker came," said Mohammad Rasoul, the mall's manager.
"There was only one attacker. Our security guard opened fire on him and he detonated his explosive," said Rasoul, who suffered minor shrapnel injuries in his right hand.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message to the news media.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack in a statement, calling it a brutal act of terrorism by those who attempted to target innocent civilians shopping for their daily needs.
“The attack reveals yet again the evil and anti-Islamic intention of the terrorists who don’t want to see people live in peace," the statement added.
Kabul City Center is the first modern shopping mall in downtown Kabul. It was damaged last February when insurgents attacked a guesthouse nearby.
Shukoor is a McClatchy special correspondent.