More than 100 Afghan security forces have been killed and scores wounded in an assault by Taliban militants on a military base in the south.
More than 100 Afghan security forces have been killed and scores wounded in an assault by Taliban militants on a military base in the south.
“We have information that 126 people have been killed in the explosion inside the military training center,” a senior defense ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, was quoted by AFP as saying on Monday.
A provincial official also confirmed that the death toll was over 100 while a government spokesman declined to comment.
Government sources had earlier put the number of casualties at 12.
Afghan provincial officials said the militants detonated an explosive-laden car at the base in the southern province of Maidan Wardak on Monday.
Two gunmen, who tried to enter the compound after the bombing, were shot dead, said Mohebullah Sharifzai, spokesman for the provincial governor.
“A (second) car, packed with explosives, was also discovered and defused,” he said.
A number of the wounded are in critical condition and were transferred to the capital, Kabul, according to Salem Asgherkhail, head of the area’s public health department.
