Taliban Overrun South Afghan Military Base, Killing 25 Soldiers

For the third time in recent weeks, the 215 Malwand Corps in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province came under attack on Friday. Fighting raged throughout the day, with at least 25 soldiers killed, and nine Taliban attackers reported slain so far.

Many of the casualties appear to have happened inside the dining hall at the base, where three Taliban suicide bombers detonated during the attack. Six other Taliban gunmen were killed, and the rest were believed to have fled.

Afghan officials say that as of Friday night, the operation is still ongoing, and even though they believe they’ve repelled all of the attackers, they are still carrying out clearing operations in the base to make sure they didn’t leave any explosives behind.

This base continues to get hit, as do several other bases around Helmand, as the Taliban looks to continue to amass gains in the area. The Taliban controls much of the province, which is valuable for opium smuggling.