Seven Afghan Soldiers Killed in Insider Attack

Taliban infiltrators attacked and killed at least seven Afghan soldiers on a small base in southern Kandahar Province, according to Afghan officials. They say at least four infiltrators were identified and participated in the attack.

This appears to be one of those infiltration for equipment ploys by the Taliban, with officials saying they’d stolen all the military equipment kept at the base and fled into the countryside. All of the attackers appear to have gotten away.

19 years into the war, the Taliban have increasingly relied on looting small bases for equipment, guns, ammunition, and even vehicles. This has meant that in recent years the war is largely fought with the same US-provided equipment by both sides.

Afghan recruitment struggles have made it fairly simple for the Taliban to infiltrate these small bases, which tend to be undermanned, and attack the other forces at mealtime or when they go to sleep.