At least 24 Afghan soldiers killed in insider attack

KABUL: At least two dozen Afghan security forces were killed on Friday in an insider attack on their base in southern Afghanistan, officials told AFP, as fighting raged in the war-weary country while efforts to start talks with the Taliban stalled.

The pre-dawn attack in Zabul province comes as Afghanistan is grappling with several crises including an increase in Taliban violence that has thrown a supposed peace process into turmoil, mounting coronavirus cases, and a political feud that has seen Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah claim the presidency.

The attack in Zabul saw several “infiltrators” open fire on their comrades as they slept, according to provincial governor Rahmatullah Yarmal, in one of the deadliest attacks since the US signed a withdrawal deal with the Taliban last month.

The pre-dawn raid targeted a joint police and army headquarters near Qalat, the provincial capital. “In the attack, 14 Afghan army forces and 10 policemen were killed,” Zabul provincial council chief Ata Jan Haq Bayan said. He added that four other Afghan service members were missing. “The attackers had connections with the Taliban insurgents,” Bayan said. They fled in two military Humvee vehicles, along with a pickup truck, weapons and ammunition. Yarmal confirmed the toll to AFP.

Hours after the incident the defence ministry vowed to retaliate, while also giving a lower death toll for the attack, saying just 17 were killed. The Afghan security forces “will not leave this attack unanswered and will avenge the blood of the martyrs” the ministry added in a statement.

The US embassy later condemned the attack on Twitter, saying “the time for peace is now”. “In the midst of a global pandemic & on Nowruz, attacks like these are obscene,” the statement added, referring to Persian New Year which is widely celebrated across Afghanistan. The Taliban did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman said the “heinous” attack called into question the Taliban’s commitment to the peace deal.