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After Deadly Attack on Kabul Hospital, ‘Everywhere Was Full of Blood’ After Deadly Attack on Kabul Hospital, ‘Everywhere Was Full of Blood’
(about 7 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen stormed the main military hospital in Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens as Afghan forces struggled for seven hours to evacuate the crowded facility and end the siege. KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen disguised as medical staff members stormed the main military hospital in Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens in an attack that was claimed by the Islamic State and that highlighted the country’s deteriorating security situation.
As the war in Afghanistan has escalated and security forces suffer high casualty rates, the 400-bed Sardar Daud Khan hospital in Kabul, the capital, remains the main care center for wounded army soldiers. The hospital is busy on any given day, as the bodies of those who are killed around the country are also brought there for their families to pick up. Afghan forces struggled for seven hours to evacuate the crowded hospital and end the siege, killing all of the perpetrators of the audacious attack, which was carried out in broad daylight in the center of the Afghan capital.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on the hospital through its Amaq News Agency, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, hours after the Taliban denied involvement. As the war in Afghanistan has escalated and security forces have suffered high casualty rates, the 400-bed Sardar Daud Khan hospital remains the main care center for wounded army soldiers. The hospital is busy on any given day, as the bodies of those who are killed around the country are also brought there for their families to pick up.
Last year there was a record number of civilian and military casualties from fighting that is raging across the country. Much of the fighting is waged by the Taliban, an insurgency emboldened by territorial gains in recent years, but a group affiliated with the Islamic State has also been trying to gain a foothold in the east of the country. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on Wednesday through its Amaq News Agency, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, hours after the Taliban denied involvement.
After repeated operations by Afghan forces and airstrikes by the United States military, the group has been reduced to about 700 fighters, according to United States military officials. Despite that, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an increasing number of suicide missions in Kabul, the one on the hospital being the most sophisticated. Their deadliest attack was at a peaceful protest last summer, which left at least 80 people dead. Last year, there was a record number of civilian and military casualties from fighting that continues to rage across the country. Much of the fighting has been waged by the Taliban, an insurgency emboldened by territorial gains in recent years, but a group affiliated with the Islamic State has also been trying to gain a foothold in the east of the country.
The attack on Wednesday began around 9 a.m., a busy time for the hospital’s staff as well as family members visiting loved ones. After repeated operations by Afghan forces and airstrikes by the United States military, the group has been reduced to about 700 fighters, according to United States military officials. Despite those losses, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an increasing number of suicide missions in Kabul, the one on the hospital being the most sophisticated. The group’s deadliest attack left at least 80 people dead at a peaceful protest last summer.
The attack began with a suicide bomber on foot detonating his explosives at one of the hospital’s rear entrances, after which other attackers, believed to number four, entered the building. The Islamic State, whose regional chapter covers Afghanistan and Pakistan and is largely made up of fighters from Pakistani tribal areas, also claimed responsibility for an attack on a shrine in southern Pakistan on Feb. 16 that killed more than 80 people.
Maj. Gen. Dawlat Waziri, the spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said the attackers were wearing medical uniforms. The regional picture is complicated, analysts say, by the difficulty in determining whether attacks attributed to the Islamic State were actually carried out by the group, or if other established groups like the Haqqani network were responsible.
“Thirty people have been killed, including hospital personnel and patients, and more than 50 have been wounded,” Gen. Waziri said after the attack ended around 4 p.m. The attack in Kabul on Wednesday began around 9 a.m., a busy time for the hospital’s staff as well as for family members visiting loved ones. A suicide bomber on foot detonated his explosives at one of the hospital’s rear entrances, after which other attackers, believed to number four, entered the building.
Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said all the attackers involved in the assault had been killed. Maj. Gen. Dawlat Waziri, the spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, said the attackers had worn medical uniforms.
Survivors recounted harrowing stories of hiding under beds and holding their breath, or trying to escape through windows. Caretakers tried to evacuate patients on gurneys. Hundreds of family members anxiously waited outside the police cordon for hours. “Thirty people have been killed, including hospital personnel and patients, and more than 50 have been wounded,” General Waziri said after the attack ended around 4 p.m.
Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said all the attackers had been killed.
Survivors recounted harrowing stories of hiding under beds and holding their breath, or of trying to escape through windows. Caretakers tried to evacuate patients on gurneys. Hundreds of family members waited anxiously outside the police cordon for hours.
Fazel Mohammed, 46, who works in the neurology department on the fifth floor, said he had been on duty the night before and was waiting for the morning handover when the initial explosion occurred.Fazel Mohammed, 46, who works in the neurology department on the fifth floor, said he had been on duty the night before and was waiting for the morning handover when the initial explosion occurred.
“I heard firing in the corridor of the fifth floor, and I saw gunmen shooting everyone they saw,” Mr. Mohammed said. “They hit one of our colleagues with a bullet in the chest, and they fired at a girl who was a relative of a patient. Then they shot a cleaner and then another guy.”“I heard firing in the corridor of the fifth floor, and I saw gunmen shooting everyone they saw,” Mr. Mohammed said. “They hit one of our colleagues with a bullet in the chest, and they fired at a girl who was a relative of a patient. Then they shot a cleaner and then another guy.”
Mr. Mohammed said he and others tried to lock themselves in one of the rooms, barricading the door. They stayed in the room for three hours before security forces rescued them. Mr. Mohammed said he and others tried to barricade themselves in one of the rooms. They stayed there for three hours before security forces rescued them.
“We understand that on the second, third, fourth and fifth floors, casualties were very high, because everywhere was full of blood,” said Dr. Akramuddin Kakar, who was stuck in the hospital for much of the seven hours. “The attackers killed whoever they saw in the main building of the hospital.” Dr. Akramuddin Kakar, who was stuck in the hospital for most of the seven hours, said, “We understand that on the second, third, fourth and fifth floors, casualties were very high, because everywhere was full of blood.”
As the elite forces who cleared the building were leaving, more than a dozen vans filled with civilians and men in military uniforms were driven in to donate blood — a sign that the number of casualties could be higher than reported by the government. He added, “The attackers killed whoever they saw in the main building of the hospital.”
As the elite forces who cleared the building were leaving, civilians and men in military uniforms arrived in more than a dozen vans to donate blood — a sign that the number of casualties could be higher than reported by the government.
The United Nations condemned the attack, asking all parties to respect medical facilities.The United Nations condemned the attack, asking all parties to respect medical facilities.
“On behalf of the U.N. humanitarian agencies, I strongly emphasize that medical facilities, personnel and those receiving treatment must never be placed at risk and under no circumstances be subject to attack,” Adele Khodr, the United Nations interim humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, said in a statement.“On behalf of the U.N. humanitarian agencies, I strongly emphasize that medical facilities, personnel and those receiving treatment must never be placed at risk and under no circumstances be subject to attack,” Adele Khodr, the United Nations interim humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, said in a statement.
The attack comes at a difficult time for medical workers in Afghanistan. From January 2015 to December 2016, about 240 attacks have been recorded against health facilities or medical personnel, according to a new report by the nongovernmental organization Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict. “This attack marks an abhorrent new low — dressing in disguise to shoot at the sick and wounded is a cowardly, wicked act,” Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the United States, said in a statement. “These are forces of evil the world must work together to defeat.”
According to the United Nations, 3,498 civilians were killed and 7,920 were wounded in Afghanistan in 2016. Afghan officials say more than 6,200 Afghan soldiers and police officers were killed and more than 12,000 were wounded. The hospital attack comes at a difficult time for medical workers in Afghanistan. From January 2015 to December 2016, about 240 attacks against health facilities or medical personnel have been recorded, according to a new report by the nongovernmental organization Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict.
According to the United Nations, 3,498 civilians were killed and 7,920 were wounded in Afghanistan last year. Afghan officials say more than 6,200 Afghan soldiers and police officers were killed and more than 12,000 were wounded.