Up to 15 Afghan security forces are feared dead in an overnight bomb blast at a military base in the southern province of Helmand, a security source on the ground told Sputnik on Monday
KABUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th May, 2020) Up to 15 Afghan security forces are feared dead in an overnight bomb blast at a military base in the southern province of Helmand, a security source on the ground told Sputnik on Monday.
The car bomb blast hit the facility belonging to the Afghan National Army and National Directorate of Security in Yakhchal area of Gereshk district on Sunday.
"Fifteen people were killed and more than 10 others were injured in the blast," the security source said.
A senior security source in the province, however, told Sputnik on the condition of anonymity that "10 soldiers were killed, some still under the rubble, and 10 others soldiers were wounded." According to the source, the blast was so strong that it completely destroyed the facility.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it took place at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday (18:00 GMT) and hit a military facility that hosted 150 intelligence and army officers.
The same evening, Taliban militants threw a hand grenade toward a group of youths near a mosque in Mohammad Hassan village of Khayr Kot district in eastern Paktika province. Twenty people sustained injuries and were taken to Khayr Kot hospital.
A hospital official told Sputnik that none of them had serious injuries. Following the incident, the militants opened fire on police in the village.
The movement also attacked an Afghan military checkpoint in Paktika's southeastern Sarobi district on Sunday. Nonetheless, 17 Taliban members were killed during clashes with Afghan security forces, according to the army.
Three incidents involving the Taliban occurred in central Ghazni province. During the movement's offensive on a checkpoint in the Shalez area, three militants were killed and five others were injured, according to the military. Afghan troops repelled another attack in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni, and killed six more Taliban members. In addition, four militants were killed during a clash in the Nani area.
In a separate incident, three Taliban militants have been killed in a premature explosion of a bomb they were mounting in Nimla area of Khogyani district in eastern Nangarhar province, the provincial governor office said in a statement.
