Dozens die in Taliban attack on Afghan military base
The Taliban says all 60 personnel were killed, but official reports give a lower toll, in the third major attack on security installations in the country this week
Kandahar — At least 43 Afghan soldiers were killed in a Taliban-claimed suicide attack on a military base in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, officials said, the third assault on a security installation this week. Just two soldiers are known to have survived unscathed after the attack on the base in the Chashmo area of Maiwand district in Kandahar province, the defence ministry said in a statement, adding that nine soldiers were wounded and six unaccounted for. Defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told AFP the attackers detonated at least one explosive-packed Humvee vehicle and razed the compound in the early morning assault. The Taliban claimed the ambush in a message to journalists which said all 60 security personnel on the base were killed. Ten insurgents died, the ministry said. "We have sent a delegation to assess the situation. The base is under ANA (Afghan National Army) control," Waziri told AFP. It was the third suicide and gun attack on a security installation this w...
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