At least two dozen Afghan security forces were killed Fridayin an insider attack on their base in southern Afghanistan, officials told AFP,as fighting raged in the war-weary country while efforts to start talks withthe Taliban stalled.
The pre-dawn attack in Zabul province comes as Afghanistanis grappling with several crises including an increase in Taliban violence thathas thrown a supposed peace process into turmoil, mounting coronavirus cases,and a political feud that has seen two men claim the presidency.
The attack in Zabul saw several “infiltrators”open fire on their comrades as they slept, according to provincial governorRahmatullah Yarmal, in one of the deadliest attacks since the US signed awithdrawal deal with the Taliban last month.
The pre-dawn raid targeted a joint police and armyheadquarters near Qalat, the provincial capital.
“In the attack, 14 Afghan army forces and 10 policemenwere killed,” Zabul provincial council chief Ata Jan Haq Bayan said. Headded that four other Afghan service members were missing. “The attackershad connections with the Taliban insurgents,” Bayan said.
They fled in two military Humvee vehicles, along with apickup truck, weapons and ammunition. Yarmal confirmed the toll to AFP.
The Taliban did not immediately respond to a request forcomment.
Zabul province, bordering Pakistan, has long been aninsurgent stronghold and was the holdout for former Taliban supreme leaderMullah Omar, who died in 2013. The Zabul attack comes just a day after AfghanDefence Minister Asadullah Khalid called on the Taliban to commit to aceasefire as a way of tackling the novel coronavirus, which observers fear isspreading unchecked through the impoverished country. Khalid also said Afghanforces should assume a more aggressive “active defence” postureagainst the Taliban, who have continued attacks across the country sincesigning a deal with the US on February 29.
The continued uptick in violence comes as the US continuedto plead with leaders in Kabul to press forward with efforts to engage with theTaliban while resolving their political crisis that has divided the government.
In a tweet marking Nowruz — the Persian New Year — ZalmayKhalilzad, the US negotiator who brokered the Taliban deal, called for Afghanleaders to take advantage of the “historic opportunity for peace” andwork with the Taliban to contain the coronavirus.
Both the Taliban and Afghan government in Kabul continue tobicker over a proposed prisoner swap that was set to pave the way for theopening of talks between the two sides.
The US-Taliban deal said the Afghan government, which wasnot a signatory, should release 5,000 Taliban prisoners before”intra-Afghan” talks start.President Ashraf Ghani, however, has agreed onlyto release 1,500, with the remaining 3,500 to be freed as negotiations begin.The Taliban have rejected the offer and the government’s release of prisonersdid not begin as decreed on Saturday.