3 soldiers injured in attack on Afghan army bus

 At least three Afghan army soldiers were wounded Monday after an army bus was attacked by Taliban insurgents in Herat city, the capital of western province of Herat, police said.
"The bus was running on the airport road at around midday. Four militants sitting in a vehicle parked along the road tried to target the bus carrying army personnel. One militant detonated his suicide jacket close to the army vehicle," provincial police chief Samaiullha Qatra told Xinhua.
Three other militants fled the scene after army soldiers on board of the bus opened fire on them.
The security forces launched a manhunt operation to locate and arrest the fleeing militants, Qata said.
A surge in attacks has been witnessed in the country since the Taliban insurgent group launched a rebel offensive against Afghan security forces and the NATO-led troops stationed in the country in May.
The Taliban urged civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and sites, which are regarded as the legitimate targets by militants besides warning people not to support the government and foreign troops.
The casualties of Afghan security forces have increased recently as they are taking the lead in providing security for the country.
The war-torn country is due to take over the security responsibility from foreign troops by the end of the year.
Earlier on the day, five policemen, including a district police chief, were killed in a Taliban ambush attack in Farsi district of Herat.
Three army soldiers were killed in separate bomb attacks elsewhere in the country on Sunday.
In a separate incident, five Taliban insurgents were killed and seven others wounded following an insurgent attack on police checkpoints in Chardara district in the country's northern Kunduz province, sources said, adding no police was hurt in the attack.
More than 51,000 NATO-led coalition troops, down from the peak of 130, 000 in 2010, are stationed in Afghanistan, and the United States plans to trim its forces to less than 10,000 next year.