Seven Afghan soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack on a base in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, officials said.

According to the Afghan defense ministry, “terrorists” attacked a joint military base in the Dawlat Abad district of Balkh province near the Uzbekistan border.

The base was shared between the army and the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s secretive intelligence agency.

“As a result of this attack, seven Afghan army soldiers died and three others were wounded. Meanwhile, in this attack, three NDS staff were also injured,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said 20 soldiers had been killed in the attack, including a commander.

“Six soldiers were wounded and four arrested. The base was captured,” Mujahid wrote on Twitter.

The attack comes one day after the Taliban claimed responsibility for the death of an American special forces soldier, who was killed in Kunduz province, also in the north.

The Taliban said they had attacked the vehicle he was in, whereas the US military said he died when a weapons cache he had been investigating exploded.

Source: AFP