Updated | Afghan defence chiefs resign over deadly Taliban attack

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accepted on Monday the resignation of the defence minister and army chief of staff after more than 140 government soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack on an army base last week, the President's office said.

"Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim stepped down with immediate effect," the presidential palace announced in a post on its Twitter account.

On Friday, as many as a dozen Taliban militants stormed the largest army base in northern Afghanistan, killing at least 140 soldiers, many of them unarmed.

In an apparent attempt to save face, the central administration has continuously downplayed the death toll, which has been confirmed by anonymous officials in many corners of government.

Forty-eight hours after the attack, the president’s office and the defence ministry put the number of dead and injured at “more than 100”.

Sediq Sediqqi, the director of the government’s media and information centre, said officials were still verifying the identity of the victims.

The attack was the deadliest on the security forces since 2001.

Ghani called for a national day of mourning and travelled to Mazar-i-Sharif to visit the base.

Friday’s attack was the second major intelligence failure in two months, after alleged Islamic State gunmen stormed an army hospital in Kabul in March, killing dozens of injured soldiers and nurses.

Ghani's spokesman Shah Hussain Murtazawi said a thorough investigation had been ordered into Friday’s attack.

"Investigations must be acceptable to the nation and the President," he said. "At this moment, the people of Afghanistan need to unite like a strong fist."

Many internet commentators had called for the resignation of defence minister Abdullah Habibi and the commander of the 209th Corps stationed at the base.