More than 150 Afghan soldiers killed by Taliban suicide attackers at army base

[saiyan0321]

NYT and CNN are reporting the number to be above 140 now. This was a devastating attack which highlights yet again the poor security and preparedness of the the ANDF. The war in Afghanistan is nowhere close to reaching its end and is slowly reaching new heights as everyday the Taliban gain ground or land a devastating blow to the NUG. At this point what Pakistan has been stating from the start is coming true that the only way Afghanistan will see peace is if there are talks with the Taliban. With regional powers starting to move as well, it becomes even more imperative that the NUG and America come to talks and bring Taliban to the fold otherwise that day is not far when war weariness both in America and Afghanistan simply forces the NUG and america to give far greater concessions than required.

RIP.

For the last forty years Afghanistan has been in a state of a constant civil war and frankly the divisions in Afghanistan which were very clear before the soviet invasion, are only getting larger and larger.

 

[hussain0216]

Why are you so butthurt? on topic RIP

I'm perfectly fine, I am pointing out that Afghanistan has bought this upon itself

After 9/11 it had the perfect chance to grow and stabilize but it was more interested in pointing fingers and playing footsie with a near useless India which would infuriate Pakistan, which as expected washed its hands of Afghanistan and set about securing itself

Now Taliban is stronger then ever
U.S is bored and won't give aid to Afghans forever
Pakistan is ticked off and is sealing its borders
India has little more then self interest and pie in the sky nonsense about Chahbahar
And Afghanistan is screwed

 

[shahbaz baig]

RIP, for afghan soldiers

Over 100 killed, wounded in Taliban attack on Afghan military 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.

The ministry did not give a breakdown of the casualties in the hours-long attack near Mazar-i-Sharif city on Friday.

The US military has said that “more than 50” Afghan soldiers were killed, while an Afghan army source who was on the base at the time put the death toll as high as 150, with dozens more wounded.

“They entered the compound using two army trucks with machine guns on top of them. They opened fire on everyone. And then they entered the mosque and dining room, killing everyone indiscriminately,” Mohammad Hussain, an army officer wounded in the attack, said as he was treated in hospital.

Two of the attackers blew themselves up in the raid, which was claimed by the Taliban late Friday and which underscores rising insecurity as Afghanistan braces for an intense spring fighting season.

All were dressed in Afghan army uniforms, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity and adding that no civilians were killed.

“Three months ago I sent my son to the army, I have not seen him since then. And today, they give me his remains,” one grieving father told AFP.

Noorullah, a second officer injured in the attack, speculated the militants may have had “inside help”, noting they had to pass through at least seven checkposts before entering the compound.

The defence ministry said Afghan forces had killed all the attackers, without specifying how many there were. Earlier it had said one of the assailants had been detained.

The military source at the base said there were at least 10 attackers, adding that the soldiers were “young recruits who had come for training”.

“I was in a room close to the mosque, their leader came in and shouted 'aim for their heads'. I jumped out of the window, my friends were killed,” one 19-year-old soldier, Mohammad Qurban, told AFP from hospital where he was being treated for hand and stomach injuries.

The toll could change, the defence ministry said in a statement, adding it would provide more information once an investigation was completed.

Afghan officials have been known to minimise casualty figures in some major attacks on military sites, such as in early March when gunmen disguised as doctors stormed the country's largest military hospital in Kabul, killing dozens.

Officials put the death toll in that attack at 50, but security sources and survivors told AFP more than 100 were killed in the brazen and savage assault.

Military targets
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani flew to Mazar-i-Sharif on Saturday to pay a “courtesy visit” to wounded soldiers, his office said, while General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, praised Afghan commandos for bringing the “atrocity to an end”.

Afghan security forces, beset by killings and desertions, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

According to US watchdog SIGAR, casualties among Afghan security forces soared by 35 per cent in 2016, with 6,800 soldiers and police killed.

The attack on the Kabul hospital in March came a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in the capital.

More than a third of Afghanistan is outside government control and many regions are fiercely contested by various insurgent groups, as Kabul's repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

The US has around 8,400 troops in the country with about another 5,000 from NATO allies assisting a much larger Afghan force in the war against the Taliban and other militants Nicholson in February told US officials in Washington that he needed “a few thousand” more troops.

Earlier this month the US military dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb on the militant Islamic State group hideouts in eastern Afghanistan, killing nearly a hundred militants, according to unverified figures from Afghan officials.

The attack triggered global shockwaves, with some condemning the use of Afghanistan as what they called a testing ground for the weapon, and against a militant group that is not considered as big a threat as the Taliban.

 

[Eagle_storm]

So,You're claiming its fake Taliban aka RAW??

Calm down by the way.You're already crossing boundary of civil discussions.



So,lets wait it out.But you know that most of the time when things go sour,they never claim responsibility,right?

Check the attack where their attack killed UAE diplomats.

Kill the raw agents there and also destruct their bases in the name of embassies there will be soon peace
And Usa should get the fk out of Afghanistan

So,You're claiming its fake Taliban aka RAW??

Calm down by the way.You're already crossing boundary of civil discussions.



So,lets wait it out.But you know that most of the time when things go sour,they never claim responsibility,right?

Check the attack where their attack killed UAE diplomats.

I don't need to wait the attack of UAE diplomat was carry out by indian raw and nds to create a thorn in the relationship of uae and Pakistan
This attack was carry out by indian and raw.

 

[YeBeWarned]

It seems like the biggest attack by Afghan Taliban .. the death toll is massive

 

[Major Sam]

Actually Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is blessed with natural resources worth billions of dollars and Afghans are very close to the Indian nation.

Regional countries are not trying to think big and all have adopted thier own ways which in real are problems for the Mars missions and when they are butchering native people of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and trying to move them out of thier houses then they are not understanding that Indian Establishment nation is well aware what can happen in Mars. Afghan Parliament has already showed that they are brothers of Indian Nation and they are willing to work together but the small brains have different mentality.

They love indians so much that they give "Hindu Kush" name to one of the main mountain

 

[Zhukov]

Pakistan military supports these Taliban, why?

They kill fellow Muslims, they kill civilians and in this case men who were praying. ISIS jr partner.

Who told you this rubbish? NDTV?

 

[GR!FF!N]

Kill the raw agents there and also destruct their bases in the name of embassies there will be soon peace
And Usa should get the fk out of Afghanistan




I don't need to wait the attack of UAE diplomat was carry out by indian raw and nds to create a thorn in the relationship of uae and Pakistan
This attack was carry out by indian and raw.

any proof or just like other posts its verbal diarrhoea??

by the way,Taliban already claimed its responsibility of yesterday's attack..

By Saturday, the Taliban had claimed responsibility, with a spokesman saying the attack was carried out by ten assailants as retribution for the recent killing of several senior Taliban leaders.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-...00-dead-in-taliban-attack-on-afghan-army-base

 

[Sharpshooter12]

First of all I am really disappointed to see some of my countrymen still being confused about the afghan talis. Some are questioning whether these true Muslims can target people while they were praying, other are secretly applauding it as allegedly some RAW operatives(oh come on now) have been killed in the attack while others think it is a false flag operation.

We were asking these questions when parade lane mosque was attacked, when people praying in the mosque at Budhabeer airforce station were attacked. We know these are barbaric people, they consider the people not part of their movement as murtads so their praying doesn't matter, their place of worship has no sanctity.

This is pure terrorism and needs to be condemned in the same manner as we condemn an attack on our own people. We can't have double standards, this mindset needs to change or else this menace of extremism and terrorism will not get defeated.

We are winning our war on terror but unless we get rid of this mindset where we try to see good in these militant groups this victory will not be permanent.

But such a huge loss of life and that too in northern Afghanistan so close to an urban center will be disastrous for the morale of their army.

See there is this difference between how our military and society reacted to this problem and how Afghans are doing it.

In our society when all this started, majority was of the view that these are our "Bhatkay hoay bhai" and many in the society including yours truly had a soft spot for them, battle lines were not clear and while state had a strong military force at its disposal it could not use it against them. There was even some affection for these elements in our military personnel, especially at lower ranks.

But with each act of their barbarity, that affection reduced and was replaced with an anger. APS was the tipping point, after APS anyone showing a bit of affection for these guys became a pariah in our society. Each of their barbaric act, instead of reducing the morale of our soldiers enraged them, as these were supposed to be good guys but now they are killing our children. And so state as it had the means, could easily crush them without any fear of public backlash and it was done with extreme prejudice.

Afghan's story is different. Battle lines are much clearer there. There are people who hate Taliban, and there are who fully support them. ANA sees them as their enemies not "Bhatkay hoay bhai", Talibans are not a rag-tag militia for Afghanistan as it is for us, they were the rulers of Afghanistan before 2001. So with each of these attacks I am sure some ANA members will feel anger, but if you think about it most will feel frustrated about being on the losing side.

It is not that they have shown restraint like the Pak army did, they have done all they could but are still losing ground, men and now Talibans are killing scores of them within their bases in area where they could feel safe. This will be sapping their morale and I think we will see a lot of defections in ANA.

 

[pzfz]

actual death toll is over 200. won't admit it for obvious reasons. a good amount because their rambo special forces opened up heavy munitions on their own being held hostage.

 

[BHarwana]

Kabul [Afghanistan], Apr 23 (ANI): The local and international media were still waiting for the National Unity Government (NUG) and the Ministry of Defence to release details on the exact casualty toll of Friday afternoon's deadly attack on the Afghan National Army's 209 Shaheen Corps Headquarters in Balkh province even more than 24 hours after the incident.

Leaked numbers indicated the toll was between 135 and 180, while some even said the number of soldiers killed could be in the hundreds, TOLO News reports.

Shortly after the siege on the military base ended, government said eight soldiers were dead and then raised this figure to 11. On Saturday morning, the Ministry of Defence issued a statement that said at least 100 dead and wounded, without any specifics.

The lack of real details caused a barrage of posts on social media, especially among the journalist community in Afghanistan, with many taking to Twitter and Facebook and slamming government for its silence.

One Twitter user refused to mince his words and said: "CONFIRMED: Afghan Army lying about its losses in the latest Taliban attack. Real number of losses suffered by Afghan Army likely over 100."

Another journalist called it a massacre and stated simply government "has refused to confirm the death toll."

http://www.aninews.in/newsdetail-NA...s-on-taliban-039-s-attack-on-afghan-army.html

 

[BHarwana]

@Horus the conspiracies have started on this attack you were correct. There is an Indian connection.

 

[BHarwana]

Taliban attack on Afghan army blow to India also
The deadly and well-coordinated attack by the Taliban in the Northern Balkh province in Afghanistan on Friday afternoon, killing as many as 140 Afghan soldiers, is as much a blow to India as it is to Afghanistan.

Sources here said that the Taliban surge could affect a year-long Indian pilot project in the region, aimed at mobilising the rural poor into common interest groups for promoting savings, entrepreneurship and job creation. The project was modelled on self-help groups in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. India also had plans to set up two basic health clinics and a comprehensive health clinic in the Balkh Province.

India has several developmental programmes running in the Northern Province, as part of the total assistance amounting to almost $3 billion.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first world leaders to condemn the attack. Later, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement that the attack was a stark reminder of the need to immediately dismantle safe havens of terrorism from outside that country's borders, an obvious reference to Pakistan.

The MEA said India remained steadfast in its support to Afghanistan in fighting all forms of terrorism. Mazar-e-Sharif serves as the capital of the Balkh province, which is also home to Afghanistan's first vice-president and former Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum.

According to Afghan news agency Khaama Press, the Taliban claimed that four of its fighters had enrolled in the 209th Shaheen Corps, months before to plan and coordinate the attack on the army base. Taliban group spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid released the picture of the 10 suicide bombers who launched the attack.

The Taliban claims that around 500 army personnel were killed or wounded. The attack came days after US President Donald Trump's National Security Adviser HR McMaster discussed the Afghanistan situation with leaders in Kabul, Islamabad and New Delhi, nearly a week after the US military dropped a massive non-nuclear bomb.

Reports said that a group of suicide attackers, driving at least two Afghan National Army vehicles, managed to pass the first security gate. When they were stopped at the second, one of the attackers blew himself up, and the rest entered the base, Zulmay Wesa, commander of 209th corps in Balkh province, told Afghan news agencies.

They went straight to the mosque where soldiers were praying, and opened fire. "After the prayer, we went outside and saw an army vehicle with 3-5 people in it. They came out and opened fire with Kalashnikovs," news agencies quoted a bodyguard at the base. Elsewhere on the base, at least one attacker went on a shooting rampage in a dining facility, according to an American security official.

The northern provinces, home to anti-Taliban forces, were assessed comparatively peaceful than the Pashtoon-dominated southern part of Afghanistan. But over the years, peace in the region has shattered. In January 2016, terrorists had attacked the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif. After being kept at bay by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel at the consulate, all four terrorists were later killed by the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF).

Quoting Taliban spokesman, Khamma Press reported that militants involved in the attack have been identified as Ahmad Safi Balkhi, Mullah Lal Mohammad Nangarhari, Hafiz Nematullah Kabuli, Qari Feda Mohammad Baghlani, Hafiz Zabiullah Kunduzi, Eng Talha Wardak, Mullah Jawad Kandahari, Hafiz Zia-ur-Rehman Khosti, Abdul Basir Parwani, and Mohammad Nabi Ghaznawi. The attack forced President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to make an unannounced visit to the province on Saturday.

Afghan officials say one of the suicide bombers was arrested while the other one managed to detonate his explosives, opening the way for others to start firing on the soldiers.

Analysts are working to turn the situation in Kabul, where rifts within the ranks of the National Unity Government (NUG) is becoming serious. The situation has taken a precarious turn with President Ashraf Ghani sacking Ahmad Zia Massoud, his top advisor for reforms and good governance, early this week. Experts say Ghani's move may further deteriorate the fragile political situation and may even push the country towards a civil war.

Meanwhile, the Afghan government says it is ready to welcome and facilitate the return of former warlord, the chief of the Hizb-I-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), Gulbadin Hekmatyar, to Kabul. Hekmatyar spokesman, Qaribur Rahman Syed, told Afghan media agency Pajhwok Afghan News that a majority of the problems regarding the return of HIA leader had been resolved and a joint commission of the party and the government was working on other issues.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-taliban-attack-on-afghan-army-blow-to-india-also-2412418

 

[Qutb-ud-din Aybak]

500+ taliban claim.

 

[SubWater]

WTF
How is this possible ????
All of blame is on Americans and the corrupt army which they made.