On 21 April 2017, insurgents disguised in Afghan army uniforms attacked Camp Shaheen (headquartered near Mazar‑i‑Sharif, Balkh Province), the base of the Afghan National Army’s 209th Corps. The attackers entered military vehicles, drove through checkpoints and launched an assault that killed at least 140 soldiers (some reports go higher) and wounded many others. This incident represented one of the deadliest single-day attacks on Afghan security forces since 2001. The event triggered the resignation of senior defence officials and raised serious concerns about infiltration, intelligence failures and the resilience of the Afghan security apparatus. It underscored the fact that even high-security military installations remained vulnerable to well-planned insurgent strikes.
