More than 100 Afghan soldiers were killed or wounded in a Taliban attack on an army base on Friday, the defence ministry has confirmed.
Fighting lasted for several hours near the city of Mazar-e Sharif in northern Balkh province.
Insurgents targeted those leaving Friday prayers at the base’s mosque and others in a canteen, the army said.
The Taliban said in a statement they had carried out the attack, using suicide bombers to breach defences.
Earlier estimates put the death toll as high as 134, but a statement from the defence ministry on Saturday gave a figure of about 100 killed or injured.
At least 10 Taliban militants were killed in the fighting and one attacker was detained.
The Taliban fighters wore army uniforms and drove through military checkpoints before launching the raid, a military spokesman said.
US military spokesman John Thomas described the attack as a “significant” strike, but he praised the Afghan commandos for bringing the “atrocity to an end”.
The base at Mazar-e-Sharif is home to the Afghan National Army’s 209th Corps, responsible for providing security to most of northern Afghanistan, including Kunduz province – which has seen heavy recent fighting.
Several German and other foreign soldiers are reported to be garrisoned there.
Jan Agah, from Jowzjan province, told the BBC one of his nephews died and another was injured in the attack.
“If strict inspections had taken place, the attackers would not have passed the first gate,” he said.
Last month about 50 people were reported to have died when militants believed to be from the group known as Islamic State targeted patients and staff at a military hospital in Kabul with guns, grenades and knives.
Also in March the Taliban said they had captured the crucial south Afghan district of Sangin after a year-long battle.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.