Afghan president Ashraf Ghani has accepted the resignations of his defence minister and army chief of staff after dozens of Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and civilians were killed in a Taliban-led attack on an army base near Mazar-i Sharif.
"Defence Minister Abdullah Habibi and Army Chief of Staff Qadam Shah Shahim stepped down with immediate effect," the presidential office in Kabul said on its Twitter account on 24 April.
Habibi had served as defence minister since June 2016, while Shahim had been ANA chief staff since May 2015.
President Ghani also approved replacements for the commanders of the 203rd, 205th, 207th, and 209th ANA corps as a result of the attack.