Afghan defence chiefs resign over deadly Taliban attack

Mattis is expected to meet Afghan officials and USA troops while in Kabul.

Mubarez Mohammad Zadran, a spokesman for the provincial governor’s office, told the Reuters news agency he was aware of “a vehicle bomb attack at one of the gates in the USA base, but we are not allowed there to get more details”.

The Trump administration expects to confront Russian Federation for supplying the Taliban with weapons and strategic support to undermine the American-led coalition in Afghanistan, senior military officials said Monday.

Despite the U.S. combat mission against the Taliban having ended in 2014, there still are almost 10,000 United States troops in Afghanistan, providing assistance to Afghan forces. At least 10 militants, possessing suicide vests, opened fire at the unarmed soldiers on entering the camp, reported news agency AFP.

A Taliban spokesman claimed that four of its fighters who participated in Friday’s raid had served at the military base.

America has spent approximately $1 trillion in warfighting and reconstruction in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion in late 2001.

Trump’s administration is considering whether to make changes to the US mission training and advising Afghan forces, and conducting raids against militant groups such as ISIS.

“The Russians seem to be choosing to be strategic competitors in a number of areas“, Mattis said on Monday, without giving any specifics on the allegations of Moscow supplying the Taliban.

One official said there was an emphasis on creating a strategy that was not tied to artificial deadlines.

President Donald Trump has been urged to send more troops to Afghanistan to help support local forces in their battle against the Taliban. It covers most of northern Afghanistan, including Kunduz province, which has been the scene of heavy fighting.

The 209-Shaheen Corps, which came under the Taliban’s attack, is one of the seven corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) that has responsibility to ensure security in north and north-eastern provinces of the country. He added that a majority of Afghans reject the Taliban and do not want to see them returning to power.

A month ago, militants attacked the country’s largest army hospital in Kabul and killed more than 50 people, including doctors and soldiers. “You’re giving away all the smuggling routes and opium and all the things that are enriching the Taliban and fueling the insurgency”.