A Taliban suicide attacker killed three people on an Afghan army bus in Kabul on Thursday, the latest deadly strike against such vehicles since the new government signed a deal for US troops to stay in the country.

Scores of shuttle buses take government and military personnel to work every morning in the capital, and they have often been targeted by insurgents despite efforts by security forces to provide better protection.

On Wednesday, Taliban suicide bombers killed at least seven people in twin attacks on two buses.

The militant group, which claimed responsibility for all three blasts, strongly oppose the US troop agreement that was signed on Tuesday.

“I can confirm a suicide attack on a bus carrying Afghan army staff,” Dawlat Waziri, deputy spokesman for the ministry of defence, told AFP. “We have three killed and eight wounded.

“The wounded were immediately taken to the hospital, and they are in a stable condition.”

A police statement confirmed the death toll and injured.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a text message: “Around 7:00 am, a suicide attacker targeted a bus carrying Afghan security forces, as a result, a number of officers were killed and wounded.”

Afghanistan and the United States on Tuesday signed the long-delayed bilateral security agreement (BSA) to allow about 10,000 US troops to stay in the country next year.

The signing took place on newly-inaugurated President Ashraf Ghani’s first day in office and represented a major step towards mending frayed ties between Kabul and Washington.