Death toll in Afghan army base attack rises to 140

International Desk: Afghan government officials say the death toll has jumped to 140 following Friday's assault on an army base in the northern Balkh province.

Another 160 people were wounded in the attack, Mohammad Ibrahim Khair Andesh, the head of the provincial council, announced on Saturday.

The attack, responsibility for which has been claimed by the Taliban, happened at an army command centre a few miles from Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh.

Two of the attackers blew themselves up and seven were killed in the assault, which lasted several hours and targeted soldiers at a mosque and dining facility, the Afghan defence ministry said.

One of the assailants was detained.

"There were about 10 fighters. One of them detonated his explosives and another went head. That's when the firefight erupted," Ghulam Hazrat, a witness, told Al Jazeera.

"There were two checkpoints but the fighters managed to go through that as well. It was chaotic and I saw more than 60 people dead on the spot.

"The toll is still rising because it was a large-scale attack. People are in fear and have a lot of questions."

Fighters in three military vehicles with forged documents launched the attack by shooting a rocket at the entrance of the base, a military official told DPA news agency.

The source said 10 fighters first targeted the mosque, where army staff were performing Friday prayers, before moving on to the dining facility, the source said.

Several military helicopters hovered over the facility during the attack and ambulances later took away the bodies of the victims, an AFP news agency correspondent said.

Taliban's claim

The Taliban claimed that more than 500 soldiers were killed and wounded.

The group also claimed that four of the attackers were soldiers who had served at the base and had knowledge of the facility.

Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the assault.

Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/Apr 22, 2017/Shahed/Nasim