The US embassy in Pakistan has warned of a possible attack against Americans in a hotel in the capital Islamabad "sometime during the holidays".

The embassy said in a statement on its website that all American employees are prohibited from visiting the Marriott Hotel, according to what was reported by Bloomberg News yesterday, Sunday.

The statement comes two days after the first suicide bombing in Islamabad in eight years, killing a policeman and a number of injuries.

"As Islamabad has been placed on high alert due to security concerns with a ban on all public gatherings, the Embassy urges all mission staff to refrain from non-essential and informal travel in Islamabad throughout the holiday season," the statement added.

And the police in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, announced on Friday that a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb he was driving near a residential area in the capital, killing him along with a policeman and injuring 5 others, including two civilians and 3 policemen.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, stating that the attack "on the enemies of Islam" was revenge for the killing of a senior member in recent days.