Taliban drones bomb 217 Pamir Military Corps in Kunduz

Two Taliban drones hovered over 217 Pamir Corps in Kunduz for about half an hour on Friday and fired off a number of mortar rounds, officials said.

The corps commander General Murad Ali Yazdani said the Taliban drones had flown over the base for about half an hour and had fired off mortar rounds that landed on the football field. No casualties were reported, he said.

Military personnel are investigating the incident and trying to track where the drone was launched.

In addition to this attack, at least 12 soldiers were killed, five others were wounded and 10 soldiers captured in two separate attacks in Kunduz – one on an army base and another on a police base.

“For some time now, security in the whole city of Kunduz has deteriorated. People have become displaced and the local government must pay attention,” said Mohammad Yousof Ayoubi, provincial head council.

Meanwhile, at around 3 am on Friday, a Humvee tank loaded with explosives was detonated prematurely in Ghazni.

One civilian was killed and seven soldiers were wounded, officials said.

“At least one truck driver passing the area was killed. The wounded soldiers are in good condition now,” said Wahidullah Jumazadah, Ghazni governor spokesman.

Security forces in Ghazni said after the Humvee exploded, clashes between security forces and the Taliban broke out.

They said at least eight Taliban fighters were killed but with the help of air support the Taliban attack was repelled.

“The Taliban carried out large-scale attacks on security and defense forces in the center and districts of the province last night in five strongholds, but were repulsed by security forces,” said Fawad Aman, defense ministry spokesman.

In the past week, the Taliban has attacked several security and defense checkpoints in different parts of the country.

Experts believe that with the start of peace talks, the Taliban is changing its approach to war in order to gain more credit.

“The Taliban has changed the tactics of war; if the security teams are a little careful, they should bring this change themselves to prevent casualties,” said former chief of army staff Sher Mohammad Karimi.

The Taliban are also said to have attacked several security checkpoints in the Darqad district of Takhar last week; in the Akbar Bai district of Takhar; and in the Jurm district of Badakhshan – inflicting heavy casualties on the military.