KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- A suicide bombing at a Kabul supermarket killed nine people Friday, including five foreign women and a child, Afghan authorities said.
The Taliban, which claimed the bombing was its work, said the intended target was the head of Xe Services, the private security company formerly known as Blackwater, The New York Times reported. A spokesman for the company said none of its employees or anyone it was guarding was injured or killed, although some were in the area.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said the contractors were targeted because "they are invaders and secondly they are protecting the invaders."
A senior Afghan official said four of the dead were Afghans and four were Filipino women. At least 17 people were hurt.
The Finest Supermarket is in a neighborhood where many embassies are located and many diplomats and foreign aid workers live. The British Embassy is next door, and the Canadian and Pakistani embassies nearby.
While security contractors are often seen in the supermarket, shoppers include ordinary Kabul residents. A weeping 11-year-old boy, who gave his name as Mujebullah, tried to get inside after the explosion, saying his sister had gone in with a cousin to buy a pacifier for her baby.
The Times said Afghan police appeared to have detained three people, including two who had been videotaping the store before the explosion.
