NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan has condemned a suicide bombing in Kabul that killed at least six people, saying such acts “exploit vulnerable individuals” and coerce them into committing horrible acts.

The force said Saturday in a statement that the suicide bomber who struck near NATO headquarters was suspected to be a teenager. It said children were among the victims.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing but said the bomber was a man in his 20s. A spokesman said the target of the blast was the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Officials say several Western embassies are located near the blast site.

The U.S. embassy in Kabul also condemned Saturday's attack. It said if reports that the attacker was a teenager are true, the insurgents reveal they are willing to use the most impressionable and vulnerable people to carry out their attacks.

The explosion came as Afghans are gathering to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the death of resistance commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Massoud fought Soviet troops and their allies in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He also led the Northern Alliance, a group of Afghan commanders who fought against the Taliban in the 1990s.

He was killed by Arab al-Qaida suicide bombers posing as journalists on September 9, 2001 – just two days before the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Massoud's assassination was said to be linked to the terror attacks. Some analysts say the resistance commander was deliberately killed by al-Qaida to ensure the Taliban's support after the September 11 attacks.