An important #Afghan army base in northern province of Faryab fall into Taliban hand. “Chinese” base came under Taliban attack 2days ago where 17 Afghan military personals were and 12 others wounded. pic.twitter.com/ygyiJ7NUfO— Khalil Noori (@KhalilNoori) August 14, 2018
New York Times: The Afghan Army’s Last Stand at Chinese Camp
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — First Lt. Mohammad Reza, 23, got up from his bedroll on Monday morning and put on civilian clothes underneath his uniform. He was sweltering in the summer heat, but before the day was over, he would be glad he had done so.
Lieutenant Reza was a platoon leader and the senior officer of what was left of Company A, Sixth Battalion, First Brigade, part of the Afghan National Army’s 209th Corps. His base, known as Chinese Camp, was in Ghormach District, a longtime Taliban stronghold in northern Faryab Province.
Battered by heavy Taliban attacks for three nights in a row, the company’s officers said they had lost half of their 106 soldiers — 21 were dead, including the company commander, and 33 were wounded. Fifteen border police officers based there had also been killed.
By the day’s end, they would all be gone.
The army’s last stand at Chinese Camp is an object lesson in the difficult conditions under which many Afghan troops fight and the inability of their military to support and resupply them — especially when forces are stretched thin by a big fight with the Taliban elsewhere.
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WNU Editor: When major FOBs like this one fall, it is ominous sign on where this war is heading.
