Kabul, October 20 (Agencies): In the past three days, three deadly attacks carried out by the Taliban against Afghan security forces – in Paktia, Ghazni and Kandahar provinces – have claimed the lives of well over 100 security force members and wounded dozens more.
On Wednesday (October 18) night, the Taliban carried out a massive suicide bombing against a military base in Maiwand district in Kandahar province, killing 43 soldiers and wounding nine. Six are unaccounted for.
There had been 60 soldiers deployed to the base.
One source said the attack took place on Wednesday night after attackers detonated two Humvee bombs.
Other insurgents then stormed the base – which resulted in a firefight between Taliban members and security forces.
This came a day after the Taliban attacked Paktia police headquarters. Security officials said on Thursday over 80 people were killed, of which at least 60 were security force members. Among those killed was the provincial police chief, Torialai Abdyani. Meanwhile, over 200 others, including civilians, were wounded in the attack.
The Taliban insurgents detonated two vehicle bombs and stormed the police compound on Tuesday morning and used not only security force vehicles but were also dressed in security force uniforms.
In a third attack, on Monday night, at least 15 police force members and five civilians lost their lives in a Taliban attack in Andar district in Ghazni province.
Ghazni Governor Abdul Karim Matin said a Humvee full of explosives was used in the attack which was detonated in front of Andar district council building.
In the meantime, a number of MPs and political analysts have blamed the lack of capabilities of the intelligence organizations for these attacks.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) Dawlat Waziri said: “(The base) has been destroyed completely and those who were inside the camp were martyred. May God give peace to their souls.”
Jabar Qahraman, MP from southern Helmand province questioned the capability and management of the security forces at the bases.
“The security leadership must be assessed in Kandahar and Helmand as soon as possible. The leaders who cannot be accountable will create problems instead of solving them” Qahraman said.
Critics asked “how it is possible that so few people could besiege a military base and cause such a high casualty toll among security forces.”
“The enemy has people inside the bases in Afghanistan and in security agencies. They are used by the enemy and they are shown the routes to attack the outposts,” a former military officer Asadullah Walwalji said.
Wednesday night’s attack was one of a number of deadly incidents to hit Kandahar province in the past few months.
Included among a list of incidents, at least 26 Afghan soldiers were killed in July and 13 wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in the Karzali area of Khakrez district.
In May this year, at least 10 Afghan soldiers were killed in another attack on an army base in the Shawali Kot district.
