Afghan army bus bombed in Kabul, one dead

AFGHANISTAN: A roadside bomb ripped into an Afghan army bus in the capital, Kabul, on Thursday, killing the driver and wounding 14 people, including seven soldiers, police said.

The remote-controlled bomb was planted by Taliban militants, a spokesman for the group said.

The driver of the bus took the brunt of the blast through the front doors of the bus, which swerved off the road into a wall.

The bomb, planted in a cart on the side of the road, went off in a crowded area of the city just before the rush-hour, as the bus was taking army officers and soldiers to work.

“I heard a huge bang and I saw smoke rising out of the bus and the bus was full of officers panicky at the scene,” said a taxi driver at the scene.”

Kabul this year has witnessed around 10 attacks on Afghan and foreign forces, mostly in suicide raids, as the Western-backed government and the Taliban push for a decisive advantage in their battle for control of the country.

Kabul, Thursday, Reuters