The attack took place when a bomber stormed a bus which was carrying Afghan army recruits in the provincial capital of Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province on Monday.

"In the attack, 12 army recruits were killed and 38 others were wounded," said Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for Nangarhar province.

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry spokesman General Dawlat Waziri confirmed the incident and the death toll, saying the attacker struck the bus while riding a motorized tricycle.

"The recruits were being transferred from Jalalabad to Kabul," said Waziri, putting the number of injured at 26.

The head of a regional hospital in the province, however, put the death toll at 13.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack on his Twitter page.

Taliban militants regularly target military and government installations in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is gripped by insecurity 15 years after the United States and its allies attacked the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.

The war removed the Taliban from power but insecurity is still rampant in the country despite the presence of thousands of foreign troops, Press TV reported.

219-12