Insider attack kills 23 soldiers in Afghanistan

• The incident took place at a military base in Ghazni Province.
• The Afghan Ministry of Defense has confirmed nine deaths in the incident.

KABUL: As many as 23 soldiers were killed in an insider attack in eastern Afghanistan, officials said on Saturday.

The report suggests that the deceased soldiers were sleeping at the time of the attack that took place at a military base in Ghazni Province.

Officials said the on duty infiltrator opened fire on his colleagues resulting in almost wiping out the whole unit. The attacker then seized all weapons and equipment in the base and joined the insurgency.

The Afghan Ministry of Defense has confirmed nine deaths in the incident. The exact number of casualties was unclear.

As per the New York Times, Taliban claimed 32 causalities in the attack.

Meanwhile, a member of the provincial council Esmatullah Jamuradwal claimed 23 causalities, and said that only one soldier, out of 24 in the Territorial Army unit, had survived.

“The attacker packed all weapons and ammunition in a Humvee and drove to the Taliban,” he said.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said that officials had begun an investigation into the attack.