Afghan attack: Babies killed as gunmen storm maternity ward

Two babies and 11 mothers and nurses have been killed in an attack on a hospital in the Afghan capital.

Another 15 people, including a number of children, were injured when several gunmen attacked the Kabul hospital on Tuesday morning, officials said.

Part of the hospital is run by the international medical charity, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), and some of those working there are foreigners.

Meanwhile, in the east, an attack at a police funeral has killed at least 24.

Dozens more were injured in that bomb blast and casualty numbers in both attacks could rise. It is not clear who carried out either attack.

In Kabul, locals heard two blasts, then gunfire. One doctor who fled during the assault, which began at about 10:00 local time (05:30 GMT), told the BBC about 180 people were in the hospital when the gunmen began their attack.

Afghan special forces have rescued 100 women and children, including three foreigners, an official told the BBC.

The attackers, who gained access dressed as police officers, according to news agency Reuters, were all killed by security personnel after a battle lasting hours.

Images from the scene of the attack showed soldiers carrying one newborn baby to safety, swaddled in a blood-stained blanket. It is not clear if the infant had been injured.

The Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital has a maternity wing run by MSF. Much foreign staff live in a guesthouse behind the hospital building and a doctor who fled the building told the BBC he saw an explosion there too.

The Taliban, who signed a withdrawal agreement with the United States more than two months ago, have denied involvement.

In the past, similar attacks on foreign and other civilians in this mostly Shia area of the capital have been attributed to the Islamic State (IS) militant group, which has not yet issued a statement. The group’s leader in South Asia and the Far East was arrested in Kabul on Tuesday, with two other high profile members, Afghan intelligence said.

In 2017, IS gunmen disguised as medical staff attacked Kabul’s main military hospital, prompting widespread shock and anger and raising questions about security. The authorities later confirmed about 50 people had been killed.

But the Taliban also attack hospitals. Last September, 20 people died after a truck packed with explosives was detonated by militants from the group outside a hospital in southern Zabul province.

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Source: BBC