Bus bomb in Afghanistan kills nine as four Nato troops die in attacks

Police said a militant who set off the bus bomb was seen running away from the scene just north-west of the capital, Kabul, and was captured by local villagers.

The bomb had been placed under a bridge and was detonated when the bus drove over, said Mohammad Zahir, the criminal director for Kabul police.

Broken glass and abandoned shoes of victims littered the road near the bus, which was turned on its side at the site of the blast in Paghman district of Kabul province.

At least three other people were injured in the attack, which happened at about 7am local time, as Afghans were going to work.

“The person who pushed the button on the remote-controlled bomb was captured by villagers who saw him running,” said Abdul Razaq, an Afghan police official.

Police speculated the bomber might have tried to target a bus full of government workers but blew up a civilian bus by mistake.

No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Paghman district police chief Colonel Amrullah blamed insurgents affiliated with the Taliban.

The Nato-led international military coalition said one of its service members died after an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan early on Monday, while officials confirmed the latest so-called green on blue attack in which two gunmen in Afghan Army uniforms opened fire on Nato troops, killing an American service member and injuring two others, at a military base in Gerdiserai area of Paktia province.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the shooting as well as a suicide attack in which a truck bomb was rammed into the gate of a Nato base in eastern Afghanistan.

The police chief of Logar province said the attacker rammed the explosives-laden pick-up truck into a gate at the Nato base near the provincial capital.

At least 11 Afghan civilians were wounded.