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Arcadia HS Graduate Among Four Killed In Kabul Suicide Bombing

ARCADIA (CBSLA) — A 55-year-old former Arcadia man was among four people killed in a suicide bombing this week in Afghanistan.

Authorities say the family of Manoharan "Paul" Kamaleson confirmed he was among those who died Monday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives packed into a vehicle in Kabul.

The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the attack, in which at least 100 people were injured.

Kamaleson, who was the chief operating officer of The First MicroFinance Bank in Afghanistan, graduated in 1981 from Arcadia High School, where he played football. He also attended Azusa Pacific University.

Manoharan "Paul" Kamaleson
Manoharan "Paul" Kamaleson in an undated photo (Photo via LinkedIn)

"We are very sad to learn of the tragic passing of Paul," according to a statement Wednesday by the Arcadia Unified School District. "Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his wife Nicole, their three children and his entire family, some of whom still live here in Arcadia. As we like to say, once an Apache, always an Apache. We are proud to say Paul was and always will be a member of the Apache and Arcadia Unified family. May he rest in peace."

He was working with a nongovernmental organization in Kabul focused on economic development when he was killed, according to Shibu Thomas of Persecution Relief.

Kamaleson had just recently returned to Afghanistan after spending some of the holidays with his family in Chicago, his sister, Ruth Loise, told the Los Angeles Times. He had three grown sons who are all in their early 20s, she said.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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