Taliban Kills 43 Afghan Soldiers, Captures Afghan Army Base After Successful VBIED Attack

On October 18, the Taliban attacked with a VBIED a military base of the Afghan Army in Chashmo area of Maiwand district in Kandahar province, according to Afghan sources.

The Afghan Tolo news TV channel reported that 43 soldiers of the Afghan Army were killed in the attacks.

According to Tolo, only 60 Afghan soldiers were deployed inside the base when the Taliban attacked it. Afghanistan Ministry of Defense announced later that 58 of 60 soldiers were killed or injured.

Defense ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the Taliban attacked the military base with a booby-trapped Humvee vehicle.

“Unfortunately there is nothing left inside the camp. They have burned down everything they found inside.” Waziri said according to the AFP.

Meanwhile, the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad confirmed that Taliban fighters captured the military base after the successful VBIED attack. Voice of Jihad reported that 5 armored vehicles of the Afghan Army were destroyed in the attack, while the Taliban captured 1 vehicle.

The attack can be considered one of the biggest Taliban attacks on the Afghan Army in 2017. The attack also proves that the Taliban is capable again of launching major attacks, especially that it comes only days after a deadly wave of suicide attacks conducted by the Taliban across Afghanistan.