At least 70 Afghan soldiers died in a Taliban attack on one of the military bases near a mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif town on Friday, said Army officials. A spokesperson told BBC said that at least 10 insurgents, dressed in military attire, had targeted the canteen and soldiers who had gone to the mosque for Friday prayers. United States officials, however, did not confirm the toll but said that more than 50 soldiers have been killed.

While two of the assailants blew themselves up, seven were killed after several hours of fighting. One of the attackers has been detained, according to AFP.

The Army base is in near Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh province in northern Afghanistan. Officials said the number of casualties could be high, according to The New York Times. However, the number remains unconfirmed, with some reports saying only eight people had died.

Spokesperson for the 209th Corps Lt Colonel Abdul Qahar Aram told the English daily that a mosque and a dining room were both targeted at around 1.30 pm local time on Friday. Many soldiers were unarmed and finishing Friday prayers at the time. Aram added that the attackers were in military uniform and had used Army Ranger trucks.

Defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told AFP that Afghan forces killed five militants after the attack and that there were no civilian casualties. He added that one attacker who was wearing a bomb vest was killed before he could detonate it. The interior ministry was quoted as saying, “The attackers were heavily armed with suicide vests and automatic weapons, trying to cause as much damage as they can,” by Al Jazeera.