Flags were flown at half-mast on Sunday as Afghanistan held a day of national mourning following the Taliban attack on a military base in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif that left at least 100 dead and many others wounded.
As CGTN’s Catherine James reports, the number of soldiers killed in Friday’s attack continues to climb, outnumbering the coffins available to bury them.
Survivors have described the chaos as 10 attackers in army uniforms and vehicles opened fire and detonated explosives on thousands of soldiers at the mosque and canteen deep inside one of Afghanistan’s major military bases.
The Taliban told media the attack was retribution for the killing of Taliban leaders in the north of Afghanistan.
The fact some of the assailants were known to the soldiers is believed to be what enabled the group to pass the layers of security. It is the single deadliest attack on the Afghan security forces since the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.
The attack does not bode well for the year ahead. The Afghan national security forces are already reeling from a record number of soldiers and police killed last year - an average of 18 deaths per day.
