KANDAHAR – At least 26 Afghan soldiers have been killed and 13 wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in Kandahar province, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
MoD spokesman General Dawlat Waziri said the militants attacked an army camp in Karzali area of Khakrez district of Kandahar last night and added that Afghan soldiers “bravely resisted”.
He claimed that 80 insurgents were killed in the attack.
On the other hand, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it killed 74 soldiers and captured six others.
It bears mentioning that the attack happened days after a suicide attack on Monday claimed 35 lives in Kabul.
The car bomb detonated in a Shia neighbourhood in the west of the city during rush hour, ramming into the side of a bus carrying government employees on their way to work, interior ministry spokesperson Basir Mujahed told newsmen.
Presence of Taliban
The Taliban enjoy a heavy presence in Kandahar province and have launched repeated attacks on security forces there, including multiple assaults on military bases in May which killed dozens of soldiers.
According to a recent UN report, Kandahar was one of the most dangerous places in the country for civilians.
More than 70 villagers were kidnapped by the Taliban over the weekend, officials said. Seven were found dead and some 30 returned, while Afghan police have launched a search and rescue operation for the remainder of the missing.
Afghan forces now control 59.7% of the country, up from 57.2% the previous quarter, according to SIGAR.
The Taliban and other insurgent groups meanwhile saw their areas of control or influence increase slightly from about 10% to 11.1%.
