1st LD: Afghan defense minister, chief of army staff resign

Afghan Defense Minister Abdullah Habibi and the army's Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim resigned on Monday and the Afghan president has accepted their resignations, the country's presidential palace confirmed.

"Defense Minister Gen. Abdullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Qadam Shah Shahim stepped down with immediate effect," the palace said on its twitter account.

The resignations came in the wake of a deadly Taliban attack on an army base which left over 135 soldiers killed and 60 others injured in the northern province of Balkh on Friday.

The palace also said that President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has accepted the resignation of the two top military officials.

The attack on army's Corps 209 Shaheen took place after 10 Taliban militants disguised in army uniforms sneaked in and spread bullets on scores of unarmed soldiers and officers in and around a mosque and a dining hall in the base, located on the outskirts of provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif City.

The militants sitting in two military Ranger jeeps made their way into the base after passing several security gates under the pretext of carrying wounded persons to the base hospital.

After the bloody attack, media and critics pointed to security lapse and blamed some insider elements for facilitating the attack. Endit