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| Afghanistan |
| Several Afghan soldiers found dead in base attacked last week |
| 2018-08-11 |
| [DAWN] Several bodies of Afghan soldiers have been found in a military base that Talibs stormed last week in the embattled southern province of Uruzgan, officials said on Thursday. The attack in Chinartu district last Friday underlined the ferocity of fighting in many areas of Afghanistan even as speculation has increased about a possible ceasefire during Eid holiday this month. "We have discovered and transported 40 bodies from the area, so far," district governor Faiz Mohammad said, adding that a number of members of the security forces were still missing. News of the attack only began filtering out over the past two days. Muhammad Radmanish, a front man for the ministry of defence, said 27 Afghan soldiers were killed and five maimed. The base was back under control of security forces, said Radmanish but the attack has caused significant damage and weapons losses. Amir Muhammad Barekzai, a member of the provincial council, said some soldiers appeared to have been shot after they were captured but it was not possible to obtain independent confirmation. Zabihullah Mujahid, a front man for the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... said 46 members of the Afghan cops were killed in the Uruzgan festivities. "Afghan soldiers were not killed in Taliban detention centres," he said. The attack underlines the heavy losses being suffered by security forces as they fight the Taliban. A US Congressional watchdog, SIGAR, said in a report last year the losses were "shockingly high" but Afghan authorities no longer release overall casualty data. |
| Posted by:Fred |