Taliban Attack on Military Base in Helmand Province of Afghanistan 'Repelled'

According to reports from Afghanistan, a group of armed individuals attacked the 'Shorab' military base in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, in the early hours of Friday, March 10. The Afghan Ministry of Defense stated that following the attack on this base, which houses 'a number of American soldiers and advisors', four attackers were killed and 'Afghan forces also suffered casualties'. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Zabihullah Mansoor's Twitter account, which identifies itself as the spokesperson for the Taliban, claimed that dozens of personnel stationed at the base were killed and wounded in this attack. However, Colonel Dave Butler, spokesperson for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, called the Taliban spokesperson's claim a lie, stating: 'The brave Afghan forces repelled this attack.' According to the U.S. military spokesperson in Afghanistan, no coalition forces were harmed in this attack. On the other hand, local officials reported that the attack began at 3 AM on Friday and sporadic gunfire continued until near noon. Omar Zwak, spokesperson for the Helmand governor, told Radio Free Europe that 'commando forces arrived on time and surrounded the area.' According to this local official, besides the four suicide attackers who 'were killed upon entering the base', several other attackers were also killed in the gunfire from government forces. The number of casualties among government forces has not yet been announced, but a military source told Radio Free Europe that one of the senior commanders at this base was killed in the attack. This attack comes at a time when another round of peace talks in Afghanistan between the U.S. special representative and senior Taliban negotiators had recently taken place. The first round of these talks was held last week for three days in Doha, the capital of Qatar, and is set to resume on Saturday. Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, described the negotiations as 'constructive' at the end of the first round on Wednesday. Despite U.S. insistence, the Taliban has so far refused to negotiate directly with the Afghan government. Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted on Wednesday that efforts in Kabul to form a national group to initiate Afghan-Afghan negotiations have 'made progress'. The Afghan High Peace Council states that the Doha negotiations have not yet met their demands.