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KABUL: At the very least 19 individuals had been killed and 50 extra wounded in an assault on a navy hospital in Kabul on Tuesday, the most recent atrocity to rock Afghanistan because the Taliban seized energy.
The Taliban’s rivals, the Islamic State group, claimed duty for the gun and bomb assault within the centre of the capital.
Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-Okay) stated in an announcement on its Telegram channels that “5 Islamic State group fighters carried out simultaneous coordinated assaults” on the sprawling web site.
“The IS insurgents wished to focus on civilians, docs and sufferers within the hospital,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid stated, claiming that Taliban forces had repulsed the assault inside quarter-hour.
As a part of the response, he stated, Taliban “particular forces” had been dropped onto the roof of the hospital from one of many helicopters that the group seized from Afghanistan’s former US-backed authorities.
The assault obtained below approach when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives close to the ability’s entrance. Gunmen then broke into the hospital grounds, firing their weapons.
“Nineteen lifeless our bodies and about 50 wounded individuals have been taken to hospitals in Kabul,” a well being ministry official who requested to not be named advised AFP.
Mujahid performed down the demise toll, however confirmed that two Taliban fighters, two ladies and a baby had been killed exterior the hospital.
One lady who had been trapped within the hospital when the assault started advised AFP how she and her good friend “felt we had been going to die, that our lives had been ending”.
“There was a blast on the door,” Rowana Dawari, a poet and lecturer, advised AFP.
“Daesh got here and began firing, we had been caught. We heard firing, glass breaking. We locked ourselves in a rest room,” she stated, referring to IS by its native identify.
“Later, Taliban got here and we noticed they had been with our docs, so we knew it was OK.”
Amanudhin, a 28-year-old cleaner on the hospital, pushed an aged, frail and partially sighted affected person, Mariam, away from the scene in a wheelchair.
“The explosion occurred and after some time individuals began screaming ‘Daesh is right here’,” he advised AFP. “We heard a whole lot of firing.
“We had been within the seventh flooring and locked ourselves in a room. There have been injured individuals in every single place. Damaged glass.”
They hid till Taliban fighters got here to rescue them: “They had been particular forces, professionals, they broke the door and obtained inside.”
The Taliban spent 20 years waging an insurgency in opposition to the ousted US-backed authorities.
Now they face the wrestle of bringing stability to Afghanistan, which has been hit in current weeks by a collection of bloody assaults claimed by the Islamic State group’s native chapter.
“All of the attackers are lifeless. The assault was initiated by a suicide bomber on a motorbike who blew himself up on the entrance of the hospital,” a Taliban official from the federal government media group stated.
Two explosions focused the hospital space, he had earlier stated in an announcement.
AFP workers within the metropolis heard a second explosion some half-hour after the primary was reported.
“I heard a giant explosion coming from the primary checkpoint. We had been advised to go to protected rooms. I additionally hear weapons firing,” a health care provider on the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital advised AFP whereas the assault was being carried out.
“I can nonetheless hear gun firing contained in the hospital constructing. I believe the attackers are going from room to room… like the primary time it was attacked,” the physician added.
The hospital, which treats wounded troopers from each the Taliban and former Afghan safety forces, was beforehand attacked in 2017, when gunmen disguised as medical personnel killed at the least 30 individuals in an hours-long siege.
Though each IS and the Taliban are hardline Sunni Islamist militants, they differ on particulars of faith and technique.
IS have claimed 4 mass casualty assaults because the Taliban takeover on August 15, together with suicide bomb blasts focusing on Shiite Muslim mosques. The group regards Shiite Muslims as heretics.
The 2017 assault was additionally claimed by the Islamic State group, and the Taliban denied duty.
Footage shared on social media on Tuesday confirmed black smoke billowing into the air after the explosions, the primary of which went off at round 1:00 pm (0830 GMT).
Roads near the closely fortified “Inexperienced Zone” the place the buildings of a number of former Western embassies had been positioned had been closed off to visitors and Taliban guards scaled up searches.
The US State Division condemned the assault, spokesman Ned Worth stated in a tweet Tuesday night.
“We mourn these killed and provide our condolences to their family members,” he stated. “Concentrating on medical professionals and sufferers is abhorrent and has no justification.”
The Taliban’s rivals, the Islamic State group, claimed duty for the gun and bomb assault within the centre of the capital.
Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-Okay) stated in an announcement on its Telegram channels that “5 Islamic State group fighters carried out simultaneous coordinated assaults” on the sprawling web site.
“The IS insurgents wished to focus on civilians, docs and sufferers within the hospital,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid stated, claiming that Taliban forces had repulsed the assault inside quarter-hour.
As a part of the response, he stated, Taliban “particular forces” had been dropped onto the roof of the hospital from one of many helicopters that the group seized from Afghanistan’s former US-backed authorities.
The assault obtained below approach when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives close to the ability’s entrance. Gunmen then broke into the hospital grounds, firing their weapons.
“Nineteen lifeless our bodies and about 50 wounded individuals have been taken to hospitals in Kabul,” a well being ministry official who requested to not be named advised AFP.
Mujahid performed down the demise toll, however confirmed that two Taliban fighters, two ladies and a baby had been killed exterior the hospital.
One lady who had been trapped within the hospital when the assault started advised AFP how she and her good friend “felt we had been going to die, that our lives had been ending”.
“There was a blast on the door,” Rowana Dawari, a poet and lecturer, advised AFP.
“Daesh got here and began firing, we had been caught. We heard firing, glass breaking. We locked ourselves in a rest room,” she stated, referring to IS by its native identify.
“Later, Taliban got here and we noticed they had been with our docs, so we knew it was OK.”
Amanudhin, a 28-year-old cleaner on the hospital, pushed an aged, frail and partially sighted affected person, Mariam, away from the scene in a wheelchair.
“The explosion occurred and after some time individuals began screaming ‘Daesh is right here’,” he advised AFP. “We heard a whole lot of firing.
“We had been within the seventh flooring and locked ourselves in a room. There have been injured individuals in every single place. Damaged glass.”
They hid till Taliban fighters got here to rescue them: “They had been particular forces, professionals, they broke the door and obtained inside.”
The Taliban spent 20 years waging an insurgency in opposition to the ousted US-backed authorities.
Now they face the wrestle of bringing stability to Afghanistan, which has been hit in current weeks by a collection of bloody assaults claimed by the Islamic State group’s native chapter.
“All of the attackers are lifeless. The assault was initiated by a suicide bomber on a motorbike who blew himself up on the entrance of the hospital,” a Taliban official from the federal government media group stated.
Two explosions focused the hospital space, he had earlier stated in an announcement.
AFP workers within the metropolis heard a second explosion some half-hour after the primary was reported.
“I heard a giant explosion coming from the primary checkpoint. We had been advised to go to protected rooms. I additionally hear weapons firing,” a health care provider on the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital advised AFP whereas the assault was being carried out.
“I can nonetheless hear gun firing contained in the hospital constructing. I believe the attackers are going from room to room… like the primary time it was attacked,” the physician added.
The hospital, which treats wounded troopers from each the Taliban and former Afghan safety forces, was beforehand attacked in 2017, when gunmen disguised as medical personnel killed at the least 30 individuals in an hours-long siege.
Though each IS and the Taliban are hardline Sunni Islamist militants, they differ on particulars of faith and technique.
IS have claimed 4 mass casualty assaults because the Taliban takeover on August 15, together with suicide bomb blasts focusing on Shiite Muslim mosques. The group regards Shiite Muslims as heretics.
The 2017 assault was additionally claimed by the Islamic State group, and the Taliban denied duty.
Footage shared on social media on Tuesday confirmed black smoke billowing into the air after the explosions, the primary of which went off at round 1:00 pm (0830 GMT).
Roads near the closely fortified “Inexperienced Zone” the place the buildings of a number of former Western embassies had been positioned had been closed off to visitors and Taliban guards scaled up searches.
The US State Division condemned the assault, spokesman Ned Worth stated in a tweet Tuesday night.
“We mourn these killed and provide our condolences to their family members,” he stated. “Concentrating on medical professionals and sufferers is abhorrent and has no justification.”
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