News / Afghanistan

Taliban ‘infiltrators’ kill dozens of Afghan troops, policemen in attack on army base

Friday, 20 March 2020 10:33 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 20 March 2020 11:09 AM ]

A file photo of Afghan soldiers in the western Farah province. (by AFP)

At least two dozen Afghan security forces and policemen have been killed and several others are missing after “Taliban infiltrators” attacked them in an army base in southern Afghanistan.

The attack on a joint police and army headquarters near Kalat, the provincial capital, killed at least 14 Afghan army forces and 10 policemen, Zabul provincial council chief Ata Jan Haq Bayan said on Friday.

Four other members of the Afghan security forces were also missing, he added.

Bayan said that the attackers, who “had connections with the Taliban,” fled in two military Humvee vehicles, along with a pickup truck, weapons and ammunition.

Zabul governor Rahmatullah Yarmal, who also confirmed the death toll, described the attackers as “infiltrators."

The attack has become the deadliest since the Taliban signed a deal with the United States in the Qatari capital, Doha, late last month.

Under the deal, the Taliban have agreed to sever ties with al-Qaeda and other terror groups and sit down for peace talks with the Afghan government. In return, Washington will start a phased withdrawal of troops.

The Afghan government was a party neither to the negotiations nor to the deal that was primarily aimed at reducing violence in the war-torn country.

Since it was signed, however, violence has escalated with the militants carrying out dozens of deadly attacks across the country.

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