KABUL – least 10 Afghan soldiers have been killed and several otherswounded in a bomb attack in Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand, themilitary says.
“The coward terrorists organized a bomb blast next to an army checkpoint inSangin district at 04:30 a.m. local time today, and as a result 10 soldierswere martyred and four others wounded,” said a statement by the country’snational army on Saturday.
It added that 16 troopers were present at the base when the explosionoccurred.
Afghanistan’s Tolo News television channel, citing some unnamed sources,reported that terrorists had dug a tunnel to the outpost, detonated someexplosives and then attacked the installation.
Shortly after the deadly attack, the Taliban militant group claimed theresponsibility for the blast at the outpost, raised the death toll to 26soldiers.
The volatile province has been viewed as a Taliban hotbed in Afghanistan.[image: Car bomb kills 6 soldiers in Afghanistan]linkThe terror attack came just four days after a car bomb explosion killed 10soldiers in Afghanistan’s northern province of Balkh, where Talibanmilitants are relatively active.link
Apart from bomb attacks and detonating explosive-ridden vehicles, Talibanmilitants often plant roadside bombs and landmines to target Afghan andforeign forces. The deadly weapons also inflict heavy casualties oncivilians.
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The country has been whipsawed by the longtime Taliban militancy and therise of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists.
Add to this the presence of foreign forces. The United States invadedAfghanistan in October 2001 and overthrew a Taliban regime in power at thetime. But US forces have remained bogged down there through thepresidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and now Donald Trump.
Some 18 years on, Washington is seeking a truce with the militants, who nowcontrol or have influence in about half of Afghanistan’s territory.
Nearly 20,000 foreign troops, most of them Americans, are currentlydeployed in Afghanistan as part of a mission to purportedly train, assist,and advise Afghan security forces.
