KABUL -- Seven people including a suicide bomber were killed and several others wounded as the suicide bomber was gunned down by security forces in Police District 2 of Kabul city on Monday, police of the Afghan capital said.

"The suicide bomber, who was approaching a checkpoint in Malik Asghar area on the road leading to the foreign ministry, was identified and gunned down by security forces, but his explosive device exploded, killing six civilians and wounding several others including three security personnel," police spokesman Khalid Zadran told Xinhua.

Without providing more details, the spokesman said an investigation was launched into the attack, which took place at around 2:00 p.m. local time.

Quoting doctors in Emergency Hospital, a non-government health center in Kabul, local TV channel Ariana News reported earlier that two dead bodies and 12 wounded people, including a child, had been taken to the hospital.