Afghan army chief, defense minister resign following the attack on the army base that killed more than 100.
The Afghan Defense Minister Abdullah Habibi and National Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shaheem have resigned following the deadly Taliban attack on an Afghan army base which killed at least 140 soldiers.
“Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi & Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim stepped down with immediate effect,” the Khaama Press quoted the Office of the President, ARG Palace, as saying on Monday.
The officials say President Ashraf Ghani accepted the resignations on Monday.
Habibi has served as defense minister since June last year and Shahim has been army chief of staff since early 2015.
This decision was taken after a deadly attack on the 209th Shaheen Corps of the Afghan National Army in northern city Mazar Sharif.
A squad of 10 Taliban militants, dressed in military uniforms, drove in two army Ford Ranger trucks past seven checkpoints and launched a coordinated attack as hundreds, perhaps thousands, of unarmed soldiers were emerging from Friday prayers and preparing for lunch, according to media reports.
For the next five hours, the militants went on a rampage, killing at least 140 soldiers and officers in what is emerging as the single deadliest known attack on an Afghan military base in the country’s 16-year war.