Suicide attack in eastern Afghanistan kills 12 army recruits

An Afghan hospital official says that at least 12 new army recruits have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in the eastern city of Jalalabad.

Ahsanullah Shinwari, head of the Jalalabad hospital, said Monday that 12 bodies have been brought to the hospital in the city, 125 kilometres from the capital Kabul.

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He said another 38 people were injured, and most of them are in critical condition.

All were new army recruits travelling in a bus Monday afternoon, on the outskirts of the Jalalabad the capital of Nangarhar province.

Initial reports said the attacker was on a motorcycle when he rammed the bus, detonating explosives, according to Ahmad Ali Hazrat, chief of the Nangarhar provincial council.

No group has yet claimed responsibility. Suicide attacks regularly take place in Jalalabad, as a number of anti-government insurgent groups are based in the province.

Earlier Kabul blast

Earlier Monday in Kabul, at least one person was killed when a bomb ripped through a bus carrying Education Ministry employees to work.

Interior Ministry Spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said five people were wounded in the blast, caused by a magnetic bomb attached to the bus.

Rahim Gul, the assistant bus driver, gave a higher death toll, telling The Associated Press that two employees were killed.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for that attack. The Taliban frequently use roadside and so-called sticky bombs, as well as suicide attacks against Afghan security forces and government employees across the country.

Such bombings regularly take place in Kabul, though the Afghan capital has not seen a major attack in several months.