Taliban kill 26 in army base attack

AT least 26 Afghan soldiers have been killed in a Taliban attack on a military base in southern Kandahar province, the defence ministry said yesterday, in the latest blow to the country’s struggling security forces.

The Afghan air force said it had carried out strikes backing up soldiers on the ground during the hours-long attack on the base, which began late on Tuesday and ended early yesterday.

At least 13 soldiers had also been wounded in the attack, defence ministry spokesman General Dawlat Waziri said.

The Afghan forces had bravely resisted, killing more than 80 insurgents, he said.

The camp was in the remote Karzali area of Khakrez district, near the border with restive Helmand, where the Taliban hold vast swathes of territory.

Provincial air force commander General Raziq Shirzai said: “We conducted multiple air strikes, killing dozens of them.

“Our helicopters transported wounded soldiers to hospitals in Kandahar.”

One senior army source said up to 12 soldiers were still missing following the assault, which he called a very heavy attack.

The insurgents had stolen guns and vehicles as they retreated, he said. Residents described hearing the air strikes, and said the attack had been launched by a 30-strong convoy carrying hundreds of Taliban who assaulted the base from multiple directions.

The insurgents claimed the attack via their Twitter account.

The resurgent Taliban have been ramping up their campaign against beleaguered government forces.

It has underscored rising insecurity in the war-torn country during the summer fighting season when the warmer weather spurs an increase in militant attacks.

Afghan security forces – beset by high death tolls, desertions and non-existent “ghost soldiers” on the payroll – have been struggling to beat back the insurgents since US-led Nato troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Casualties among Afghan security forces soared by 35% last year, with 6 800 soldiers and police killed, according to US watchdog Sigar.

The insurgents have carried out more complex attacks against security forces this year, with Sigar calling troop casualties early in the year shockingly high.

In April at least 135 soldiers are believed to have been killed on a base outside the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in one of the deadliest Taliban attacks yet on a military installation.