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Gunmen dressed as doctors attack military hospital in Kabul Isis claims responsibility for Kabul hospital attack by fake doctors
(about 4 hours later)
Gunmen dressed as doctors have attacked a military hospital close to the US embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack on a military hospital in Kabul in which gunmen dressed as doctors entered the facility and fought security forces for hours.
A security official said the attack began with an explosion at the rear of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital and three to five attackers with automatic weapons and hand grenades entered the complex. The attack on Wednesday began when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the rear of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital and three attackers with automatic weapons and hand grenades entered the complex, security officials said.
Officials said the gunmen, dressed as medical personnel, had taken position on upper floors of the hospital and were engaging special forces units sent to the scene. The fake doctors had taken position on upper floors and engaged special forces sent to the scene.
Security forces blocked off the area around the hospital, near a busy traffic intersection. As fighting went on, a second explosion was heard from the hospital. Abdul Qadir, a worker at the hospital, said he saw one gunman dressed in a white doctor’s coat take out an AK-47 assault rifle and open fire, killing at least one patient and one hospital worker.
“Our forces are there and there is heavy fighting,” said defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri. He said there was no immediate word on casualties. Security forces blocked off the area around the hospital, near a busy traffic intersection, and special forces descended on to the roof of the main building from helicopters. As fighting went on, a second explosion was heard from inside.
The attack on the hospital, across the road from the heavily fortified US embassy, underlines warnings by government officials that high profile attacks in Kabul are likely to escalate this year as the Taliban step up their insurgency. Some patients climbed out of the hospital, which treats military casualties, and could be seen sheltering on window ledges.
“There is an ongoing terrorist attack in a hospital which tramples all human values,” President Ashraf Ghani, said in impromptu remarks during a speech for International Women’s Day. “Our forces are there and there is heavy fighting,” said a defence ministry spokesman, Dawlat Waziri. He said one attacker had been killed and another two were holding out, while one soldier had been killed and three wounded.
“In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan.“ A spokesman for the public health ministry said at least three people were dead and more than 60 wounded had been taken to other hospitals. A Taliban spokesman denied responsibility, saying the movement had no connection to the attack.
The Nato-led Resolute Support mission said it was ready to assist Afghan security services. A statement from Isis’s Amaq news agency said its fighters had attacked the hospital. The group has mounted several high-profile attacks on civilian targets in Kabul over the past year, including several on prominent Shia targets.
One worker at the hospital, Abdul Qadir, told Reuters that he saw one gunman, dressed in a white doctor’s coat, take out a concealed AK-47 assault rifle and open fire, killing at least one patient and one hospital worker. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, said the attack “trampled on all human values” in impromptu remarks during a speech for International Women’s Day in Kabul.
He also heard firing from several other points of the hospital, which treats military casualties from around Afghanistan. “In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan,” he said.
The attack comes just a week after dozens were killed and wounded in coordinated attacks on a police station and an office of the intelligence service in Kabul. The raid on the hospital, across the road from the heavily fortified US embassy, underlines warnings by government officials that high-profile attacks in Kabul are likely to escalate this year.
That attack was claimed by the Taliban, who are seeking to expel foreign troops, defeat the U.S.-backed government and reimpose Islamic law after their 2001 ouster.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. A Taliban spokesman said he had no immediate information.