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Kabul Military Hospital in Afghanistan Comes Under Attack Kabul Military Hospital in Afghanistan Comes Under Attack
(about 2 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen stormed the main military hospital in Kabul on Wednesday after a suicide bombing at one of its gates, and fighting was underway, Afghan officials said.KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen stormed the main military hospital in Kabul on Wednesday after a suicide bombing at one of its gates, and fighting was underway, Afghan officials said.
Major Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said a suicide bomber on foot had detonated his explosives at the gates of Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital near Kabul’s diplomatic district, after which other attackers entered the building. Major Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said a suicide bomber on foot had detonated his explosives at the gates of Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital near Kabul’s diplomatic district, after which other attackers entered the building. The attackers were wearing military uniforms, General Waziri said.
“Now the attackers are on the third and fourth story of the hospital’s main building, and our commandos are inside and the attackers are surrounded,” General Waziri said by telephone. “We don’t know the number of casualties yet.” He said the attackers were wearing military uniforms. It was unclear how many people had been killed or wounded. A spokesman for the Afghan Health Ministry, Ismail Kawoosi, said that so far, three bodies and 66 wounded people had been taken to nearby civilian hospitals.
Zahir Ziya, a doctor at the hospital, said he feared that the casualties would be high, with Afghan soldiers accounting for most of them. As the war has escalated and the Afghan security forces have suffered record casualties, the hospital is busy on any given day. It is the main care center for wounded Afghan army soldiers, and the bodies of those who are killed are brought there daily.
Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said initial information suggested it was a “complex attack,” with two or three assailants having entered the hospital. He said the first explosion targeted one of the hospital’s rear entrances, not the main entrance.Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said initial information suggested it was a “complex attack,” with two or three assailants having entered the hospital. He said the first explosion targeted one of the hospital’s rear entrances, not the main entrance.
Mortaza Ahmadi, a hospital worker trapped in the building, said there had been five attackers, four of whom blew themselves up. “Now Afghan forces have come to rescue us,” Mr. Ahmadi said. “Some patients are still in their rooms, others have escaped.” Mortaza Ahmadi, a hospital worker trapped in the building, said by telephone that there had been five attackers, four of whom blew themselves up. “Now Afghan forces have come to rescue us,” Mr. Ahmadi said. “Some patients are still in their rooms, others have escaped.”
Zahir Ziya, a doctor at the hospital, said he feared that the casualties were high, with most of them Afghan soldiers. As the war has escalated and the Afghan security forces have suffered record casualties, the hospital is busy on any given day. It is the main care center for wounded Afghan army soldiers, and the bodies of those who are killed are brought there daily. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, denied that the militants were behind it in a message to reporters.