140 Afghan Soldiers Killed In Calculated Taliban Attack On Base

At least 140 Afghan soldiers were killed after Taliban militants disguised as soldiers, drove onto a military base and opened fire on soldiers leaving Friday prayers.  Around 130 of the victims were young recruits who had just graduated from military school.  A national day of mourning followed as the calculated Taliban attack was the deadliest on an Afghan military base in the last 16 years.

Camp Shaheen, in northern Afghanistan, was considered one of the nation’s most secure bases in the now relatively peaceful city of Mazar-i-Sharif.  Though the April 21st death toll was high, it could have been much higher.  It began when two pickup trucks with at least eight Taliban fighters disguised as ANA soldiers passed through multiple checkpoints undetected with fake military identification cards used to obtain access.

An intelligence officer who survived the attack said the attackers were clean-shaven and had what they claimed to be a bloody and bandaged, wounded soldier in the backseat.  The “soldier” acted like he was in pain and the disguised attackers claimed it was a medical emergency, insisting that they needed to be let into the base immediately to save the soldier.

As the trucks made it to the final checkpoint which was manned by three guards and no barricade-the guards radioed headquarters to find out if the army hospital was expecting the urgent case.  The guards were instructed to let them through but to inform them that they must leave their cache of weapons at the gate.  The insurgents refused to leave their weapons and a fierce fire fight with the guards ensued.  The Taliban attackers shot all three guards, killing two while the third remains in a critical condition.

After the altercation at the last checkpoint, the attackers made their way into the mosque just as prayers had ended and people were making their way outside.  Armed with a machine gun installed on the roof of one of their trucks, the attackers sprayed bullets into the crowd.

As explosions went off, terrified recruits began running for safety.  Nearby, an attacker in disguise was calmly directing terrified recruits “to safety” by ushering them inside the dining hall.   Trusting the familiar uniform, many young recruits poured in, minutes later, he blew himself up — killing more than 20.

Many recruits ran back into the mosque for safety but the attackers followed them in, mercilessly killing them.  A survivor inside the mosque said that as he “played dead” among bodies of fallen recruits he heard a voice call out that “it was over” and “survivors stand up.”   Slowly, several survivors rose only to be shot dead.

As deadly as this calculated was, if it wasn’t for the altercation at the final checkpoint, it is likely the casualties would have been far higher.   It is believed that the intention of the attackers was to breach the mosque and open fire during final prayers — where 1,500 unarmed personnel would have been easy prey in one enclosed space.

Following the ongoing investigation and amid speculation of inside assistance in the attack, 8 ANA personnel have been arrested while more remain under investigation.  Afghanistan’s defense minister and Army chief have also resigned.