At least seven Afghan soldiers have died and more than 15 have been injured in the capital Kabul after a suicide bomber detonated explosives next to a bus carrying troops.

Another suicide bomber hit a second bus elsewhere in the city, injuring two soldiers and two civilians.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

One eyewitness described what happened: “A suicide attacker on a bicycle detonated his explosives beside the bus. There were a lot of wounded and dead from the army. We just managed to take the wounded victims to hospital by motorbikes and vehicles, which were passing by.”

The attacks come a day after Afghan officials signed a deal allowing US troops to stay longer than the previously agreed end of 2014.

Former president Hamid Karzai, had refused to sign the agreement, but it was authorised by the new president Ashraf Ghani.