KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen wearing army uniforms stormed a military compound in Afghanistan’s Balkh province, killing at least eight soldiers and wounding 11 others, an Afghan government official said Friday.
A spokesman for U.S. Central Command later told reporters in Washington that the attack near Mazar-i-Sharif left dozens of “friendly” Afghan casualties.
Daulat Waziri, spokesman for the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense, said gunmen entered the compound manned by members of the 209th Corps of the Afghan National Army with a military vehicle. There, they began shooting at soldiers as they prayed in a mosque in the compound, Waziri said.
Eight soldiers were killed and 11 were wounded, he said.
Waziri said five attackers were killed in the battle, including one wearing a suicide vest who was killed by soldiers before he could trigger his explosives. He said one of the attackers was caught and arrested.
The Taliban in a statement claimed responsibility for the attack.
Col. John Thomas, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, said Afghan forces killed several attackers in response to the attack that targeted a mosque and dining facility at Camp Shaheen. He said Afghan civilians were probably working at the base as well as soldiers.
Thomas said the situation at the base was “not yet resolved” and that there were probably more than 50 Afghan casualties, but he did not say how many of those were killed and how many were wounded.
Thomas could not say whether any coalition forces were at the base, but said there were no coalition casualties.