35 soldiers arrested after Taliban attack on Afghan base

Kabul: Afghan Authorities arrested 35 soldiers who served on an army base in northern Afghanistan where the Taliban staged a deadly attack last week, officials said on Wednesday, as fears grew they had inside help.
“So far 35 people have been detained and are being questioned in connection with the attack,” said 209th Corps spokesman Abdul Qahar Aram, adding that they ranked from foot soldiers to colonel.
The defense ministry released its official toll of 135 recruits killed in the assault on the sprawling base, home to the 209th Army Corps, outside the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in Balkh province on Friday.
Gunmen in military trucks and wearing suicide vests stormed the base, killing unarmed young recruits as they ate lunch in the dining hall and prayed in the mosque.
A senior US defense official has told AFP at least 144 people were killed, while some sources on the base have placed the toll as high as 160.
Analyst and university professor Abdul Hamid Safoot said Friday’s assault had highlighted multiple systematic flaws among Afghan forces, ranging from a lack of vetting to inadequate intelligence sharing.
“After the insider attacks on the NATO trainers increased, the foreign mentors no longer allow Afghan soldiers to carry arms during training,” he said, pointing out that at least four of the attackers had served at the base.
AB/IINA