Afghan Defense Minister, Army Chief resign post Taliban attack

Following the deadly Taliban attack on an Afghan army base, Defense Minister Abdullah Habibi and National Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shaheem today resigned with immediate effect.

"Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi & Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim stepped down with immediate effect," the Khaama Press quoted the Office of the President, ARG Palace, as saying on Monday.

The deadly attack on Shaheen Army Corps in Balkh province on Friday claimed the lives of over 100 soldiers.

The militants were able to penetrate inside northern Afghanistan's largest military installation dressed like the Afghan Army soldiers returning from the front lines, carrying the bodies of wounded comrades.

Dressed in military uniforms, a squad of 10 Taliban militants drove in two army Ford Ranger trucks past seven checkpoints and launched a coordinated attack as hundreds, perhaps thousands, of unarmed soldiers were emerging from Friday prayers and preparing for lunch, according to media reports.

For the next five hours, the militants went on a rampage, killing at least 140 soldiers and officers in what is emerging as the single deadliest known attack on an Afghan military base in the country's 16-year war.