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On May 27, a Suicide Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (SVBIED) of the Taliban targeted a key base of the Afghan National Police (ANP) and the Afghan National Army (ANA) in Sheren Jan area of Nad Ali district in the southern province of Helmand, according to the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad.
The Taliban claimed that more than 110 personnel of the ANA and the ANP were killed in the SVBIED attack. Several pickups and four armored vehicles of the ANA were also destroyed, according to the Afghan group.
“Enemy is currently taking away the corpses from the debris and has cordoned off the area completely,” Voice of Jihad concluded.
An unnamed district official confirmed the attack and said that at least 17 soldiers of the ANA were killed and 21 others were injured, according to the Associated Press. Earlier, Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand, claimed that only 2 soldiers were killed and 4 others were injured in the attack.
Voice of Jihad said that the SVBIED attack was a part of the Taliban spring offensive, codenamed “Operation al-Khandagh”, which was launched on April 25. According to the Taliban, the offensive is a response to Washington’s decision to increase the US military presence in Afghanistan.
