Taliban attack in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province

At least 43 Afghan soldiers were killed on an army base in the Kandahar province

the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack (Photo: the Citizen)
the Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack (Photo: the Citizen)

The Taliban launched a major attack on an army base, in southern Kandahar province, killing at least 43 Afghan soldiers.

The assault, on Thursday, began with two suicide bombings, setting off several hours of fighting.

Of 60 soldiers manning the base, 43 were killed, nine wounded and six missing, after Taliban fighters stormed the camp in the middle of the night, said the defence ministry in a statement.

This attack makes it the third of its kind on a security installation, this week. Eighty people were killed in earlier assaults.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a media statement.

Afghan sources have struggled to combat a resurgent Taliban, since the US and NATIO forces formally concluded their combat mission, at the end of 2014.