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2019 Camp Shorabak attack
2019 Camp Shorabak attack
Part of the War in Afghanistan
Location	Camp Shorabak, Helmand Province, Afghanistan
Date	1 March 2019; 5 years ago
Target	Bus
Attack type	Shooting ; Suicide bombing
Weapons	Improvised explosive device
Deaths	23
Injured	15
Perpetrators	Taliban

On the morning of 1 March 2019, Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers attacked Camp Shorabak in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. They killed 23 Afghan soldiers and injured another 15.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] Twenty insurgents were killed.^[1] None of the US Marine advisers stationed at the military base were injured.^{[citation needed]}

The attack

The attack took place in the early hours of the morning.

Taliban fighters stormed the ANDSF [Afghan National Defence and Security Forces] base at Camp Shorabak in Helmand, southern Afghanistan, which is home to the Afghan army's 215th Corps and includes a US garrison of a few hundred Marine advisers.^[5] The base was of particular importance to the US military because it had previously hosted thousands of marines deployed to Helmand during the troop surge.^[6] During the attack, the Taliban, wearing Afghan military uniforms and using military equipment regularly used by the Afghan army, fooled the soldiers defending the base.

One suicide bomber detonated his explosive device in a canteen. A total of three suicide bombers were killed in the attack.^[7] Afghan units were assisted by US forces with air support to repel the Taliban attack.^[5]

Claim of Responsibility

The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, their second against a major military target since the start of Taliban-US peace talks, probably to strengthen their negotiating position.^[6]