The Afghan defence minister and his army chief resigned Monday, days after a Taliban attack at a military base in northern Afghanistan killed or wounded more than 100 soldiers, a presidential statement said.

"President Ashraf Ghani has accepted the resignation of the defence minister and army chief of staff," the statement from Ghani's office said.

Furious Afghans had called for resignations of minister Abdullah Habibi and army chief Qadam Shah Shaheem after the assault outside the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Friday.

The attack is believed to be the deadliest-ever by the Taliban on a military base.

Ten gunmen dressed in soldiers' uniforms and armed with suicide vests entered the base in army trucks and opened fire at unarmed troops at close range in the mosque and dining hall.

The exact toll from the assault remains unclear. Afghan officials have so far ignored calls to break down the toll it has given of more than 100 soldiers killed or wounded. Some local officials have put the number of dead alone as high as 130.

Many Afghans slammed the government for its inability to counter the attack, the latest in a series of brazen Taliban assaults, including one on the country's largest military hospital in Kabul in March that left dozens dead.

Twelve army officers, including two generals, were sacked for negligence over that attack.

Tweet

Over 100 killed, wounded in Taliban attack on Afghan military base
Mazar-I-Sharif, Afghanistan (AFP) April 22, 2017
More than 100 Afghan soldiers were killed and wounded in a Taliban attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan, the defence ministry said Saturday, the latest in a string of deadly assaults against Afghan military sites. The ministry did not give a breakdown of the casualties, many of whom were young recruits in training, in the hours-long attack near Mazar-i-Sharif city on Friday. T ... read more

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only