Bus bombing kills at least 12 in eastern Afghanistan officials

A Taliban suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed at least 12 army recruits on a bus in eastern Afghanistan on Monday (April 11) officials said, hours after a similar attack killed two people in the capital Kabul.

The latest blast hit a bus in the Sorkh Rud district of Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan.

Twelve bodies and at least 38 wounded were taken to the main hospital in Jalalabad, the principal city in eastern Afghanistan, hospital chief Ihsanullah Shinwari told Reuters.

The number of casualties was expected to rise, several officials said.

Defence Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri confirmed one of the ministry’s buses carrying army recruits had been attacked but put the number of wounded at 26.

Hours earlier, a bomb hit a mini-bus carrying workers from the education ministry in eastern Kabul, killing two people and wounding seven, the ministry said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Islamist group had carried out the attack outside Jalalabad. However, no group has claimed responsibility for the Kabul attack.