Afghan lecturers among four dead as bomb hits bus

At least four people including two university lecturers were killed and several others were wounded when a roadside bomb struck their bus north of the Afghan capital on Saturday, officials said.

The incident occurred when the bus they were travelling in was hit by an explosive planted on the road in the city of Charikar, capital of Parwan province, interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian told reporters.

"Four people were killed and 11 were wounded," Arian told reporters.

The ministry of higher education said at least two of the killed were lecturers at Al-Biruni University from the neighbouring province of Kapisa, adding that the wounded included the dean of the university and some students.

Abdullah Abdullah, who heads the country's peace process, condemned the incident, which he called a "terrorist attack".

No group has so far claimed the bombing, and the Taliban denied they were involved.

Violence has soared in recent weeks as government forces and the Taliban clash in near-daily battles across the rugged countryside, with the insurgents pressing on with their campaign to capture more territory as peace talks remain deadlocked.

The Taliban deny killing civilians, but roadside bombs planted to target security forces often end up doing just that.

The group has also been accused of killing prominent Afghans including journalists, judges, civil activists and politicians in a wave of targeted assassinations in Kabul and other cities.

Meanwhile, the US military continues to withdraw its remaining 2,500 troops from the country.

Last month, President Joe Biden ordered the US military to complete the exit of all troops by September 11, which will wrap up US on-the-ground involvement in a war that began nearly 20 years ago following the September 11, 2001 attacks by Al-Qaeda.

The Taliban has urged neighbouring countries against hosting US military bases after Washington signalled it could station troops close to Afghanistan's borders to prevent the country from becoming a haven for militants.

Without naming specific countries, the Taliban said in a statement on Wednesday that granting the 'concession' of a US military presence would be "a great historic mistake and disgrace".

"As we have repeatedly assured others that our soil will not be used against the security of others, we are similarly urging others not to use their soil and airspace against our country," the statement read.

The Taliban warned it would not "remain silent" if such steps are taken and that the responsibility for "all the misfortunes and difficulties" would fall on the countries that agree to host US troops.

It comes after General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the US Central Command, told the Senate that some US troops would remain "stationed nearby Afghanistan" after President Joe Biden's 11 September withdrawal deadline.

The Biden administration is in talks with "several Central Asian neighbours of Afghanistan" to assess where troops can be redeployed to sustain the US' ability to conduct counterterrorism operations in the region.

Top US and Afghan officials believe transnational jihadist groups, such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group, remain potent in the war-torn country and there are fears the foreign troop withdrawal will embolden them to plan attacks on government forces. 

Pakistan, which shares a 2,6000 kilometre border with Afghanistan, is the main option for Washington but it has ruled out the possibility of hosting a US base or allowing drone operations on Afghanistan to be launched from Pakistani soil.

On Monday, Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s envoy for Afghanistan, said that Uzbekistan and Tajikistan had assured Moscow that basing US troops in their countries was "impossible".