Kabul, Sep 16 (IANS): Four people were killed and 41 others injured in a suicide bomb attack on Wednesday on the western outskirts of Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul, police said.

"The attack took place at the centre of Paghman district. The militants bombed the gate of the district's administrative office building, killing four people and injuring 41 others," Xinhua quoted Kabul police chief General Abdul Rahman Rahimi as saying.

The building was destroyed and several shops and houses were damaged in the blast which took place around 11.20 a.m. (local time), he said.

Two police officers and a woman were among those killed. The suicide bomber was also killed in the blast, according to Rahimi.

Unofficial sources said the district criminal investigation department police chief was killed in the attack.

The injured, who included seven women and four children, were shifted to various hospitals in Kabul, the police chief said.

Paghman is located about 20 km west of Kabul.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Nearly 1,600 civilians were killed and more than 3,300 others were injured in the conflict between Taliban militants and security forces in the first half of the year, according to UN mission figures.