Kabul: At least 50 Afghan troops were killed on Friday and around 70 others were injured when a group of Taliban insurgents launched an attack on an army base in northern Afghanistan, a military official said.
Ten Taliban militants were also killed, an Afghan Army Commander told EFE on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The attack was launched near a mosque on the base in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, as soldiers were leaving Friday prayers, said army spokesman Nasratullah Jamshidi.
Six attackers in two military vehicles told guards at the gates that they were carrying wounded soldiers and urgently needed to enter, he said.
After killing at least eight soldiers and wounding 11 others with rocket-propelled grenades and guns, one attacker was killed and the other five arrested, Jamshidi said.