KABUL – At least 17 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban fightersstormed a military base in western Afghanistan, hours before the groupannounced a ceasefire, officials said Saturday.
The Taliban claimed the Friday night attack, which Herat provincialgovernor spokesman Jilani Farhad told AFP killed 17 members of the Afghansecurity forces and wounded another.
There also were a number of Taliban casualties in the Zawol districtambush, Farhad said, but he could not provide exact figures.
Zawol district governor Mohammad Saeed Sarwari confirmed the attack and thedeath toll.
“The Taliban confiscated weapons following the attack,” Sarwari told AFP.
In a WhatsApp message, the Taliban put the death toll at 18 Afghan soldiers.
The attack came hours before the Taliban announced unprecedentedceasefire with Afghan security forces for the first three days of Eid, theholiday that caps Ramadan.
That unexpected move came two days after the Afghan government’s ownsurprise announcement of ceasefire to operations against the Taliban.
It would last “from the 27th of Ramadan until the fifth day ofEid-al-Fitr”, President Ashraf Ghani tweeted from an official account,indicating the ceasefire could run from June 12-19.