Taliban bicycle bomber kills 2 in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan — A Taliban suicide bomber riding a bicycle attacked a bus Sunday carrying police recruits in eastern Kabul, killing two people and wounding some 20 others, police said.

One of those killed was a police officer and the other was a civilian employee of a police training center, police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said.

The wounded included 14 passengers on the bus, including both police and civilian employees, Stanekzai said. Six civilian bystanders also were wounded, he said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to journalists.

Separately Sunday, a Taliban spokesman denied that secret talks have been held between the Islamic insurgent group and representatives of the Afghan government.

In a statement, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said there have been no contacts between the two sides. The Associated Press reported Friday that at least two ministers in President Hamid Karzai’s government recently have held talks in the United Arab Emirates with Taliban officials.

A senior Taliban official, who was known to the AP when the religious movement was in power in Afghanistan, said secret meetings have been held. However, neither analysts nor insurgents anticipate they can succeed. The official spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized by the movement’s leader to speak to the media.