KABUL: A suspected suicide bomber was shot dead Monday near the site of Afghanistan's loya jirga or traditional meeting which will take place this week, officials said.

“No one was killed but the bomber,” said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi.

He added that the man had been carrying explosives in a bag.

Lutfullah Mashal, spokesman for Afghanistan's intelligence service the National Directorate of Security, said the man's bag blew up as he was shot.

“A suicide bomber who wanted to enter the polytechnic university (where the loya jirga will take place) was identified and shot dead by security forces,” Mashal said.

“He was carrying the explosives in a laptop-type bag. It exploded as he was shot. He's dead and no one else is hurt.”

The Taliban claim to have got hold of top secret security plans for the loya jirga, which starts Wednesday and will discuss Afghanistan's long-term relations with the US and peace strategy.

But Afghan and Western officials have dismissed the claims as propaganda.