KABUL // The Afghan defence minister and his army chief resigned on Monday, days after a deadly Taliban attack on a military base triggered calls for the officials to step down.
“President Ashraf Ghani has accepted the resignation of the defence minister and army chief of staff,” a one-line statement from the presidential palace said.
Angry Afghans had called for the resignations of minister Abdullah Habibi and army chief Qadam Shah Shaheem, among other officials, after the assault outside the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Friday.
Ten gunmen dressed in soldiers’ uniforms and wearing suicide vests entered the base in military and opened fire at unarmed troops at close range in the mosque and dining hall.
The exact toll from the assault remains unclear. Afghan officials have so far ignored calls to break down the toll it has given of more than 100 soldiers killed or wounded, but have been known to minimise casualties in such attacks in the past.
The US has said that at least 50 soldiers were killed, and some local officials have put the number of dead as high as 130.
Mr Ghani declared Sunday a day of mourning, ordering flags to be flown at half mast.
Twelve army officers, including two generals, were sacked for negligence over that attack.
On Monday, a small group of demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace in Kabul to demand the resignation of top Afghan defence officials over the attack.
The attack, and resulting military leadership shake-up, come as the Afghan army prepares for what is expected to be a year of hard fighting against Taliban militants, who now control or contest more than 40 per cent of the country.
Meanwhile, US defence secretary Jim Mattis arrived in Afghanistan on Monday as President Donald Trump’s administration looked to construct its strategy in the country.
Nearly 9,000 US troops remain in Afghanistan, in addition to thousands of international coalition forces.
The Trump administration is considering whether to make changes to the US mission training and advising Afghan forces, and conducting raids against militant groups including ISIL.
The German military, which has led much of the advising effort in northern Afghanistan, said after the attack it would continue to work with the Afghans.
* Agence France-Presse and Reuters
