Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and Afghan police stand next to a damaged military bus following an explosion in western Kabul AFP
Reuters/Kabul
A remote-controlled bomb hit a bus carrying Afghan army personnel in the capital, Kabul, on Tuesday, killing four soldiers on their way to work, an official said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in an onslaught on Afghan security forces ahead of the withdrawal of foreign combat forces at the end of this year.
The bomb buried in the road was detonated as the bus passed by in southwestern Kabul, said Ministry of Defence spokesman General Zahir Azimi.
Twelve people were wounded in the blast, including six soldiers and six civilian passers-by, he said.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack "on the slave soldiers' bus" in a text message to reporters.
The Taliban are fighting to expel foreign forces and oust the U.S.-backed government.
Casualties among Afghan army and police have soared in the past year as national forces have taken over most of the fight against the Taliban and their jihadist allies.
The number of soldiers killed last year nearly quadrupled to 4,451 over the previous year for the Afghan calendar that ends in March, according to Ministry of Defence statistics.
