Afghan army chief, defence minister resign

International Desk: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has accepted the resignation of the defence minister and army chief of staff after more than 140 government soldiers were killed in a Taliban attack on an army base last week.

"Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim stepped down with immediate effect," the presidential palace announced in a post on its Twitter account.

Shah Hussain Murtazawi, acting spokesman for Ghani, told Reuters the resignations were because of Friday's attack in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

At least 140 soldiers were killed and many wounded, an official in the city said on Saturday. Other officials said the toll was likely to be even higher.

Ghani declared Sunday a day of mourning, ordering flags to be flown at half staff.

On Monday, a small group of demonstrators gathered outside the presidential palace in Kabul to demand the resignation of top Afghan defence officials over the attack.

The attack, and resulting military leadership shake-up, come as the Afghan army prepares for what is expected to be a year of hard fighting against Taliban militants, who now control or contest more than 40 per cent of the country.

Nearly 9000 US troops remain in Afghanistan, in addition to thousands of international coalition forces.

The administration of new US President Donald Trump is considering whether to make changes to the US mission training and advising Afghan forces, and conducting raids against militant groups such as Islamic State.

The German military, which has led much of the advising effort in northern Afghanistan, said in the wake of the attack it would continue to work with the Afghans.

Agencies

risingbd/DHAKA/Apr 24, 2017/Amirul