Taliban attackers kill at least 140 soldiers at Afghan base

More than 100 Afghan soldiers were killed and wounded in a Taliban attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan, the defence ministry said Saturday, the latest in a string of deadly assaults against Afghan military sites
Saturday, 22 April 2017 18:48

At least 140 Afghan soldiers were killed by Taliban attackers apparently disguised in military uniforms, officials said on Saturday, in what would be the deadliest attack ever on an Afghan military base.

President Ashraf Ghani declared a national day of mourning after scores of soldiers were killed by Taliban militants disguised as fellow soldiers.

One official in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where the attack occurred, said at least 140 soldiers were killed and many others wounded. Other officials said the toll was likely to be even higher.

Gen. Daulat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense, said the attack Friday on a compound of the 209th Corps of the Afghan National Army left dozens of soldiers and other personnel dead or wounded. Waziri said there were 10 attackers, including the two who carried out the suicide attacks. Eight others were killed in a gun battle with soldiers.

Gen. Mohammad Radmanish, deputy spokesman for the Defense Ministry, said the militants entered the base in Balkh province using two military vehicles and attacked army personnel inside the compound's mosque.

"Two suicide bombers detonated their vests full of explosive inside the mosque of the army corps while everyone was busy with Friday prayers," he said. 

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the assault in an email sent to media.

Witnesses described a scene of confusion as soldiers were uncertain who the attackers were. Mujahid said on Saturday the attack on the base was retribution for the recent killing of several senior Taliban leaders in northern Afghanistan.

"It was a chaotic scene and I didn't know what to do," said one army officer wounded in the attack. "There was gunfire and explosions everywhere."

The base is the headquarters for the Afghan National Army's 209th Corps, responsible for much of northern Afghanistan, including Kunduz, a province which has seen heavy fighting.