Kandahar, Afghanistan. In breaking news at least 15 Afghani soldiers have been killed in an attack by the Taliban on a military base in Kandahar province.Five others were injured in the assault on the facility in Shahwali Kot district, defense ministry spokesman Dawlat Wazir told reporters.
It comes three days after 10 Afghani soldiers were killed when Taliban militants stormed another base in the same area.The militants are intensifying their yearly spring offensive.No group has so far claimed responsibility for the Kandahar attack.
At least 15 Afghani soldiers have been killed in an attack on an army base in the southern province of Kandahar, according to defence officials Darshit Gohelle.
The assault at Shawali Kowt late on Friday came just a day after 20 Afghan policemen were killed when Taliban fighters stormed their outposts in the neighbouring province of Zabul.
“Fifteen brave army soldiers were martyred and nine others wounded. The wounded soldiers were taken to hospital and they are in stable condition,” spokesperson Gohelle said in a statement. Dawlat Waziri, defence ministry spokesman, told other reporters that at least 16 attackers had been killed by government troops after several hours of fighting.
These attack mark another setback for NATO-backed Afghan forces. It comes just a month after the Taliban killed at least 135 soldiers in the northern province of Balkh in the deadliest attack on an Afghan military base since 2001.
During the Kandahar attack, local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek help, because they were unable to contact senior authorities for communications assistance, highlighting the disarray in security ranks.
The Trump White House is considering sending 25 thousand more troops to break the deadlock in fighting between US occupation forces and the Taliban.US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis last month warned of “another tough year” for security forces in Afghanistan with a lot more “kids coming home in flag draped coffins.”