A lack of alternative job opportunities has kept young Afghan men coming to the security forces for the entry-level salary of roughly $200 a month, despite a grim picture of what they are signing up for. At least 12 army recruits were killed when a suicide bomber targeted the bus in which they were travelling near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan . Reports relating to the number injured in the attack range from at least 26 up to 38 . No group has claimed responsibility , but the attack bears the hallmarks of the Taliban , which routinely targets military recruits and recruitment centres . The army recruits tend to be heavily from the east and north of the country , and despite poor pay and bleak prospects , high unemployment continues to drive young people to join . The bombing followed a similar attack in the capital , Kabul , hours earlier , in which at least two people were killed and seven others injured , when a bomb exploded on a bus carrying members of the education ministry .
At least 12 army recruits were killed when a suicide bomber targeted the bus in which they were travelling near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan . Reports relating to the number injured in the attack range from at least 26 up to 38 . No group has claimed responsibility , but the attack bears the hallmarks of the Taliban , which routinely targets military recruits and recruitment centres . The army recruits tend to be heavily from the east and north of the country , and despite poor pay and bleak prospects , high unemployment continues to drive young people to join . The bombing followed a similar attack in the capital , Kabul , hours earlier , in which at least two people were killed and seven others injured , when a bomb exploded on a bus carrying members of the education ministry .