Death toll in Afghan base attack rises to 140, officials say
As many as 10 Taliban fighters, dressed in
Afghan army uniforms and driving military vehicles, talked their way
onto the base and opened fire on soldiers eating dinner and leaving a
mosque after Friday prayers.
As many 140 Afghan soldiers were killed on Friday by Taliban
attackers apparently disguised in military uniforms in what would be the
deadliest attack ever on an Afghan military base, officials
One
official in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where the attack
occurred, said on Saturday at least 140 soldiers were killed and many
others wounded. Other officials said the toll was likely to be even
higher.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the government has yet to release official casualty figures.
A U.S. official in Washington on Friday had put the toll at more than 50 killed and wounded.
As
many as 10 Taliban fighters, dressed in Afghan army uniforms and
driving military vehicles, talked their way onto the base and opened
fire on soldiers eating dinner and leaving a mosque after Friday
prayers, according to officials. The attackers used rocket-propelled
grenades and rifles, they said.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah
Mujahid said in a statement on Saturday the attack was retribution for
the recent killing of several senior Taliban leaders in northern
Afghanistan.
The NATO-led military coalition deploys advisers to
the base where the attack occurred to train and assist the Afghan forces
but coalition officials said no international troops were involved in
the attack.
The Western-backed Afghan government is locked in a prolonged war with Taliban insurgents and other militant groups.
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