A U.S. diplomat and five U.S. embassy officials were seriously wounded in a suicide car bomb attack at three-vehicle U.S. Embassy convoy in Afghanistan on Monday. According to the Associated Press, one person died in the bombing.

US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ronald Neumann was not traveling in the convoy when it was attacked in eastern Kabul on Jalalabad Road.

There are conflicting reports regarding the number of wounded. It's known for sure that wo U.S. vehicles were badly damaged in the blast. One SUV was split in half and its front end blown to the opposite side of the road. The full load of explosives failed to detonate, it was reported.

Several Afghan civilians, including children, were also injured in the explosion. One Afghan teenager was killed, said Hasib Arian, the district police chief.

After the bombing, the U.S. embassy in Kabul closed down and sent out a security alert to Americans living in Afghan capital.

A Taliban militant from Khost province carried out the attack, Taliban representative said to Associated Press. Mullah Dadullah, a senior Taliban commander, confirmed that Taliban claims the responsibility for the attack in an interview with Reuters by satellite phone from a secret location. He also claimed that several US soldiers had been killed and said the insurgents were planning more attacks.

In February, a suicide bomber blew up the entrance to the Bagram US military base 30 miles north of Kabul during a visit by US Vice-President Dick Cheney. The explosion killed 23 troops and wounded 20.

Taliban commanders have long warned that 2,000 suicide bombers would soon launch a bloody spring offensive against foreign troops in Afghanistan.