Afghanistan: Defense Minister & Army Chief resign following Taliban attack

Apr 24, 2017:    In Afghanistan, Defense Minister Abdullah Habibi and the country’s Army Chief Qadam Shah Shahim have reportedly resigned following a recent deadly attack by the Taliban militants.
The Afghan presidential palace announced in a post on its Twitter account that President Ashraf Ghani had today accepted their resignations. As many 140 Afghan soldiers were killed on Friday by Taliban attackers apparently disguised in military uniforms in what would be the deadliest attack ever on an Afghan military base, officials said. One official in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where the attack occurred, said on Saturday at least 140 soldiers were killed and many others wounded.

Other officials said the toll was likely to be even higher. The Minister of Interior’s Deputy Tariq Shah Bahrami has been appointed as action Minister of Defence and General Sharif Yaftal as Chief of Army Staff.
As many as 10 Taliban fighters, dressed in Afghan army uniforms and driving military vehicles, talked their way onto the base and opened fire on soldiers eating dinner and leaving a mosque after Friday prayers.   (AIR NEWS)