Border raid: Karzai seeks Pak help as 21 soldiers killed

Taliban kills 21 soldiers in assault in Kunar, Afghan govt says, while 6 soldiers were missing.

ISLAMABAD:

Taliban killed 21 soldiers in an assault in the remote mountainous region of Kunar, the Afghan government said, while six soldiers were missing after the militants’ most deadly assault on the security forces in months.

President Karzai cancelled his state visit to Sri Lanka after the attack on Afghan troops in Kunar province, his office said.

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack in Kunar’s Ghazi Abad district.

In a statement, the Afghan defence ministry said that foreigners helped Afghan and foreign insurgents in the attack, but did not name any country.

President Karzai condemned the attack by what he said was the “enemy of the homeland” and ordered the defence ministry to investigate. He also expressed condolences with the families who lost their sons in this attack, a statement from his office said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2014.