GUNMEN DISGUISED AS DOCTORS KILL DOZENS AT HOSPITAL
Gunmen disguised as doctors stormed a military hospital in the Afghan capital Wednesday morning, leaving at least 30 people dead and scores injured after a bombing and a six-hour gun battle. The assault was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
A suicide bomber detonated explosives at the front gates, then gunmen opened fire on guards stationed inside the fortified medical compound. Several attackers were able to reach the second floor, where they fought police special forces. Military officials said the attack was quelled by about 4 p.m.
More than 50 people were reported wounded in the assault. Military officials said most of the casualties were civilians.
The 9 a.m. attack on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, located near the U.S. Embassy and a major military base for the U.S.-led coalition, followed a pair of similar attacks March 1 on a police station and an intelligence police facility in the Afghan capital, which left 23 people dead. Those attacks were claimed by the Taliban.
Security officials said the attackers were wearing white doctors’ uniforms, and one witness said he saw a man dressed in a doctor’s coat pull out a Kalashnikov assault rifle and open fire. It was not clear whether any of the gunmen had already been hiding inside the facility, which mainly treats wounded military personnel.
Late into the afternoon, government forces were still locked in sporadic exchanges of fire inside the hospital. Television footage showed one Afghan military helicopter landing on the roof of the main compound and dropping reinforcements.