KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s army chief and defense minister resigned on Monday, following a Taliban attack over the weekend that struck a northern army base, killing more than 100 military and other personnel, officials said. The attack — the biggest ever by the Taliban on a military base in Afghanistan — involved multiple gunmen and suicide bombers in army uniforms who penetrated the compound of the 209th Corps of the Afghan National Army in northern Balkh province on Friday, killing and wounding scores. "We will engage with Russia diplomatically, we will do so where we can, but we will have to confront Russia when what they are doing is contrary to international law or denying the sovereignty of other countries," Mattis told reporters in the Afghan capital, where he also met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah. The Afghan government is investigating the incident and, on Monday, President Ghani announced that Defense Minister Abdullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim were stepping down in the aftermath of the siege. Also on Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived unannounced in Kabul to assess what has become America’s longest war as the Trump administration weighs sending in more U.S. troops to help the Afghans fight the insurgency.
The Afghan Minister of Defense, Abdullah Habibi and the Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army, Qadam Shah Shahim, resign after a Taliban attack on Camp Shaheen near Mazar-i-Sharif that claimed over 140 lives.