(Photo: News.cctv.com)

KABUL, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- A deadly suicide attack rocked downtown Kabul on Monday afternoon shortly after hundreds of people staged a peaceful demonstration in front of the presidential palace calling for better security measures earlier in the day.

In the demonstration on Monday morning, the protestors urged the government to ensure security and protect the lives of citizens in the insurgency-plagued Afghanistan.

Shortly after the government promised to hit back at militants and improve security, a suicide bomber blew himself up in Malik Asghar square, an area close to the presidential palace, the foreign ministry, two shopping malls, a school and a hotel frequented by foreigners and ranking government officials.

The bloody attack, according to Kabul police spokesman Basir Majahid, claimed six lives and injured 15 others, mostly civilians.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the blast, locals and the officials do not rule out the involvement of "enemies of peace in Afghanistan," a reference to the anti-government armed opposition groups including the Taliban outfit.

Meanwhile, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, in a statement released here by his office, termed the attack as a coward terrorist one and condemned it in its strongest term.