Taliban fighters dressed in military uniforms raided an army base in northern Afghanistan, raking it with gunfire in an hours-long attack Friday and killing or injuring more than 100 soldiers, officials said.
The attack started as soldiers were observing Friday prayers at a base near Mazar-e Sharif, the country’s third-largest city, the Afghan military said.
Dawlat Waziri, an Afghan Ministry of Defense spokesman, declined to give a more precise accounting of dead and injured but said one would be released later.
The uniformed attackers entered the base in vehicles and opened fire, Afghan army spokesman Abdul Qahar Araam said. The gunfire was followed by an explosion at one of the base’s gates.
The attack lasted six hours. By the end, at least five attackers were killed, and one was arrested, Araam said.
The base is the headquarters of the 209th Shaheen Corps in Balkh province.
