Suicide Bombing Kills Dozens Of Afghan Army Recruits

Jalabad: At least 12 people were killed and dozens were wounded on Monday when a suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying Afghan army recruits near Afghanistan's eastern city of Jalalabad.

The attack comes days after US Secretary of State John Kerry paid a visit to Kabul to underscore his support for Afghanistan's beleaguered unity government and call on the insurgent group to resume direct peace talks.

Ministry of Defense spokesman Dawlat Waziri confirmed the incident and death toll, adding the attacker struck the bus while riding a motorized tricycle. “The recruits were being transferred from Jalalabad to Kabul,” Waziri said, putting the number of injured at 26.

At the site of the blast, bloodied clothes and personal belongings were strewn on the ground around the badly charred remains of the bus.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid later claimed responsibility on his verified Twitter account. The group has been waging a revolt against the government since being toppled from power in 2001, frequently targeting the military. They have stepped up their campaign following the 2014 withdrawal of US-led combat troops, winning a number of important military victories including the brief capture of northern Kunduz city last September.

In another incident early on Monday, a bomb hit a mini-bus carrying Afghan education ministry workers in Kabul, killing at least two people and wounding seven others. The roadside bomb blew up as the bus was carrying workers to their offices in the Afghan capital's eastern Bagrami district.

Afghanistan's precarious security was underlined late on Saturday when at least two rockets hit the diplomatic zone in Kabul only hours after US Secretary of State John Kerry had held meetings with government leaders. No injuries were reported in those attacks.