Corrected - Taliban bomb hits bus carrying Afghan soldiers, four dead

By Mirwais Harooni KABUL (Reuters) - (Corrects number of soldiers killed last Afghan calendar year to 1,400 instead of 4,451 earlier) A remote-controlled bomb on Tuesday hit a bus carrying Afghan army personnel in the capital, Kabul, killing four soldiers on their way to work, an official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in an onslaught on Afghan security forces ahead of the withdrawal of foreign combat forces at the end of this year. The bomb buried in the road was detonated as the bus passed by in southwestern Kabul, said Ministry of Defence spokesman General Zahir Azimi. Twelve people were wounded in the blast, including six soldiers and six civilian passers-by, he said. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack "on the slave soldiers' bus" in a text message to reporters. The Taliban are fighting to expel foreign forces and oust the U.S.-backed government. Casualties among Afghan army and police have soared in the past year as national forces have taken over most of the fight against the Taliban and their jihadist allies. The number of soldiers killed last year rose to 1,400, up 20 percent over the previous year for the Afghan calendar that ends March 21, according to Ministry of Defence spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi. (Reporting by Mirwais Harooni; Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Robert Birsel)