2 KILLED IN MIDWIFE TRAINING CENTRE ATTACK
Militants neutralised after hours-long ordeal in Afghan city
AN hours-long militant attack on a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan yesterday killed at least two people and wounded five, as the latest assault in the country was brought to an end by security forces.
Nearly 70 people, including students and teachers, were inside the centre in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, at the time of the attack.
Nangarhar police chief Ghulam Sanyee Stanikzai said two people — a guard and a driver — were killed and five others wounded.
Provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani put the casualty toll slightly higher at three dead and eight wounded.
Some of the people inside the centre escaped while others were taken hostage by the gunmen.
One attacker was wearing a suicide vest and blew himself up, while the other was killed by security forces, Khogyani said.
There was no claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but most of the recent assaults in the city have been carried out by the Islamic State group, which had a stronghold in Nangarhar.
The Taliban denied involvement in a WhatsApp message sent to reporters.
Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil said 48 women from remote districts were enrolled in the twoyear midwifery course.
The training facility, which was in an area where several international organisations and consulates have offices, was funded by the Public Health Ministry.
“We don’t know why the midwife centre came under attack,” Miakhil said, adding all non-governmental organisations and government bodies in Jalalabad were at risk.
A witness said he heard several explosions and then saw three gunmen enter the street where the midwife centre is located.
Some of the security forces earlier appeared to dismantle improvised explosive devices apparently planted in the street by the militants.
It is not known why the gunmen targeted the midwife training centre. Midwives have been attacked in the past for providing reproductive health services to women, though such attacks appeared to be rare.