Taliban slaughter soldiers in Kandahar
Dozens are killed in ‘massacre’ at Afghan army post
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — In a bloody overnight attack in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province Wednesday, the Taliban routed an Afghan army outpost, killing dozens of soldiers and raising fears of a concerted insurgent offensive in the province, a former seat of Taliban power that took years of effort by coalition and Afghan forces to secure.
The attack happened in Khakrez district, about 30 miles from Kandahar city, and the large number of casualties has raised concerns about new Taliban tactics against an Afghan force already losing men in record numbers.
One senior security official said 39 Afghan army soldiers were killed in the attack, which began at 10 p.m. Tuesday and lasted three hours. The official said 17 other soldiers were wounded, and another dozen have not been accounted for.
The Afghan government’s media and information center said 26 soldiers were killed, and 13 others wounded. Army officials in Kandahar confirmed the attack, but would not provide details of casualties.
Mohammed Yousuf Younusi, a member of the Kandahar provincial council, described the episode as “a massacre” and said there was prior intelligence that the Taliban would attack in large numbers.
“The Taliban fooled the officials — they split into three groups, and launched simultaneous attacks. One group attacked Shah Wali Kot district, another attack Nish district, and a third group attacked this Afghan army base which is not far from the district center,” Younusi said. “Things are really bad, and this is a shame.”
Kandahar was the original seat of the Taliban regime when it controlled Afghanistan from the mid-1990s until its ouster by the U.S. invasion in 2001. More than 550 NATO coalition troops have died in the province, and it only became relatively secure after a strong push during President Barack Obama’s troop surge starting in 2010.
The gains in Kandahar have been solidified in recent years by a strongman police chief, Gen. Abdul Raziq, a favorite of U.S. commanders who has also been accused of abuses by human rights groups.
The Taliban have steadily been making gains in surrounding provinces, but in Kandahar, Raziq’s forces have long been successful in keeping the insurgents at bay. But the general’s control is now being tested by this new wave attacks.
In recent weeks, in addition to firing on security outposts in most of the province’s districts, the Taliban have also carried out heavier assaults and ambushes in at least six districts, often inflicting casualties on Afghan forces.