It seems that the recent call by new Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani for the Taliban militants to give the peace process a chance has fallen on deaf ears as the insurgent group staged a roadside bomb attack in the fortified Afghan capital Kabul Tuesday morning, killing at least four army personnel and injuring 12 others, including half a dozen civilians.

According to defense ministry officials and eyewitnesses, the Taliban used a remotely controlled bomb that targeted a bus carrying national army personnel while it was cruising in a busy road.

The Taliban militants, who had claimed of responsibility for the deadly attack, said that the explosive device was placed in a vase on the pavement of the road. It exploded as the bus passed by, instantly killing the four army personnel.

Earlier, Ghani announced that one of the priorities of his unity government would be to reopen talks with the Taliban as he called on the insurgent group to respond positively to the peace dialogue that has been started by the previous administration. "Political disputes should be solved through political means since war is not the solution," President Ghani said.

But Afghan political observers said that the Taliban militants, after losing hope in winning the war, have resorted to the deadly suicide attacks and roadside bombings in the capital and in the provinces. "It is very difficult to check suicide attacks, because it is impossible to frisk every passerby or search every car," retired army Brigadier Sayed Jahangir told Xinhua.

Since the beginning of October, the Taliban has conducted series of suicide attacks, including six in the capital city of Kabul which had claimed 40 lives and injured dozens others.

On Oct. 13, a suicide attack apparently aimed at a convoy of the NATO-led forces in Kabul killed one civilian and wounded three others.

Last Saturday, the militants, in a suicide car bomb against the joint convoy of army and police in the Taliban former stronghold, the southern Helmand province, also killed two security personnel and injured seven others, spokesman for provincial government Omar Zawak said.

On Oct. 15, a car bomb went off in the eastern Khost province killing five security personnel and wounding five others, spokesman for provincial government Mubariz Zadran said.

Although there are no official statistics on the number of Afghan security forces killed this year, media reports said the number could reach 7,000 with majority of them killed by suicide attacks and roadside bombings, a figure higher than that of last year.

Afghan defense ministry spokesman Zahir Azimi has told the local media that certain mistakes by the personnel of national army have resulted in the increase of casualties in the government side.

Experts said that there is a need for more coordination and harmony among the branches of the country's security apparatus to prevent the Taliban from carrying their deadly attacks. "The government has to ensure coordination among the security organs, monitor militants' activities and should closely examine the flaws and weak points in the armed forces to reduce casualties on their side," political analyst Jawed Kohistani told local media recently.

A security expert, Mohammad Akram Basharyar, said "Preferring professionalism and respecting discipline in appointing officers in key posts in security organs and replacing unskilled officers with skilled ones can reduce the casualty rate of security personnel in time of wars." Endi

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