Taleban fighters ‘ambush’ and kill dozens of retreating Afghan troops

IS claims responsibility for deadly mosque attack

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, Oct 13, (RTRS): Taleban militants ambushed and killed around 100 Afghan police and soldiers earlier this week as they tried to retreat, the heaviest losses suffered by government forces during months of fierce clashes near the capital of southern Helmand province.

On Tuesday, dozens of Afghan police and soldiers were cut down as they withdrew from their positions in Chah-e-Anjir, about 12 km outside the city of Lashkar Gah, having been surrounded and besieged for days.

“We were one battalion there and, except me and two others, no one came out alive,” Faiz Mohammad, an army soldier who survived the ambush, told Reuters in Lashkar Gah, a bloodied bandage wrapped around his head.

Afghan Taleban fighters have pushed into some areas of Lashkar Gah, firing rockets at government buildings and sparking a new wave of residents fleeing the city.

The sustained assault is the most serious threat to security in Afghanistan since the brief capture of the northern city of Kunduz a year ago, and underlines the government’s precarious defences despite support from US-led foreign forces.

One senior security official put the death toll from the Chahe-Anjir incident at around 90, while other sources said it was likely to be higher. “As they (government forces) were coming towards Lashkar Gah, they were ambushed in three locations,” the official said.

Dozens of other security personnel surrendered during the debacle, while Taleban gunmen seized at least 22 armoured Humvees, dozens of trucks, and hundreds of rifles, he said.

Taleban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said that account was accurate, and that militants killed and captured dozens of troops.

Mohammad Rasool Zazai, spokesman for the army’s 215th Corps in Helmand, said reinforcements had been working on a plan to relieve police and soldiers in Chah-e-Anjir, but they left their positions before an operation was launched.

“We were in contact with the troops there and the plan was to bring them back to Lashkar Gah to protect the city, but they decided to move without coordinating with us and they were ambushed by the Taleban.”

Meanwhile, Islamic State claimed responsibility for a mass shooting that killed at least 18 worshippers at a shrine in the Afghan capital, raising fears of sectarian violence after a string of attacks on the country’s Shi’ite minority.

The claim to Tuesday’s attack, released online, came as the community observed Ashura, one of its holiest days, although commemorations have been subdued because of security fears.

On Wednesday afternoon, an explosion outside a mosque in northern Afghanistan killed at least 14 people and wounded 24 at a similar gathering. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that assault.

Islamic State had earlier targeted members of Kabul’s Shi’ite community in a suicide bombing in July that killed more than 80 people and wounded 130.

The attacker in Kabul, said to be wearing a police uniform, entered the Karte Shakhi mosque on Tuesday night and opened fire on a crowd of Shi’ite Muslims marking Ashura, which commemorates the seventh-century death of a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

In its statement, Islamic State said the attacker detonated a suicide vest after firing all his ammunition, but security forces said they shot the man.

A Reuters video shows the suspected attacker’s body intact, with no sign of an explosive vest.

Relatives carried dead and wounded victims away from the blood-stained steps of the mosque, which is known for its bright blue tiles and domes.