[6] A squad of ten Taliban fighters, wearing army uniforms and driving two Ford Ranger military vehicles, drove into the base, claiming to have wounded soldiers in need of urgent medical care.

[7] A witness said the attackers passed unchallenged through an outer checkpoint, killed two guards at the next one, and destroyed a third one with rocket-propelled grenades (RPG).

[8][6] At the time of the attack, most soldiers were unarmed, attending Friday prayers at a mosque on the base and eating at a restaurant.

[11] On 25 April, Afghan news agency TOLOnews reported 256 soldiers had been killed, and that the government was withholding the higher death toll.

One senior United States military official said the intelligence showed the attack had been planned over 4 to 6 months and was too sophisticated and "calculated" to have been carried out by the Taliban.