Islamic State gunmen dressed as doctors storm military hospital
● More than 30 people killed ● Clashed last several hours
Gunmen dressed as health workers killed more than 30 people in an attack on a military hospital in Afghanistan.
An Islamic State affiliate claimed yesterday’s attack on the hospital in Kabul’s heavily guarded diplomatic quarter, which set off clashes that lasted for several hours.
General Dawlat Waziri, a Defence Ministry spokesman, said there were “more than 30 killed and more than 50 wounded” in the attack. He said security forces had taken full control of the facility and that the fighting is over.
The ministry said the attackers were dressed like health workers.
Gen Waziri said a suicide bomber had detonated his payload and another attacker was shot dead, and that one member of the security forces was killed and three wounded.
Afghan helicopters circled over the area, which was surrounded by security forces.
Abdul Qadir, a hospital worker who witnessed the attack, said an attacker in a white coat shot at him and his colleagues.
Ghulam Azrat, another survivor, said he escaped through a fourth floor window after attackers killed two of his friends.
IS claimed the attack in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency.
An affiliate of the extremist group has carried out a number of attacks in Afghanistan in recent years, and has clashed with the more powerful and well-established Taleban, who carried out a complex attack in Kabul last week.
Afghan security forces have struggled to combat both groups since the US and Nato formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to an advisory and counter-terrorism role.
Afghan president Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack during an address in honour of International Women’s Day, calling it “an attack on all Afghan people and all Afghan women”.
The assault on the hospital came exactly a week after the Taleban launched an attack in Kabul targeting security forces that killed at least 22 people and set off clashes that lasted several hours.
Pakistan this week temporarily reopened its border with Afghanistan, allowing thousands of stranded Afghans and Pakistanis to return home. The two main crossings had been closed last month after a wave of militant attacks. The Torkham and Chaman crossings were to remain open yesterday for nationals from both countries with valid visas who want to return home, a measure intended to calm tensions and ease a backlog.
Nearly 5,000 Afghans left for their country and another 1,500 Pakistanis crossed in the opposite direction, according to a Pakistani official at the Torkham crossing. He said overland trade has yet to resume.
“I have a valid visa and I promise that I will never come back here. Please allow me go back to my country,” Matiullah Khan, a 52-yearold Afghan, said as he and his family waited at a checkpoint.
Pakistan shut the crossings three weeks ago after a wave of suicide bombings that authorities said was linked to Islamic militants based in Afghanistan. The two countries have long accused each other of ignoring al-qaeda and other militants who operate along the porous, mountainous border.
Khairullah Azad, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, urged Pakistan to restore normal movement at the crossings, saying the two-day reopening was insufficient for people living on both sides of the frontier.
At least two Pakistani soldiers and five militants were killed on Tuesday in the northwestern town of Swabi during a raid on a militant hideout, the military said. It provided no further details, saying the fighting was still underway. The Pakistani Taleban claimed responsibility.