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Gunmen storm Kabul maternity ward, killing 13, including 2 newborns | Gunmen storm Kabul maternity ward, killing 13, including 2 newborns |
(about 1 hour later) | |
KABUL — Gunmen set off an explosion Tuesday at the entrance of one of Kabul's busiest hospitals before storming the building, which includes a maternity ward, killing 13, including two newborns. | |
The attackers battled for hours with Afghan security forces. According to the interior minister, the rest of those slain were nurses and mothers. Some 15 others were injured. The hospital is one of the busiest in western Kabul and houses a maternity ward run by Doctors Without Borders. | |
While no group has claimed responsibility for the assault, it echoes earlier attacks on civilian targets carried out by the extremist Islamic State group. In March, gunmen stormed a Sikh temple, killing 25, and earlier that month shooters killed 32 at an ethnic Hazara and Shiite gathering. | |
Taliban attacks in Afghanistan surge after U.S. peace deal, inflicting heavy casualties | Taliban attacks in Afghanistan surge after U.S. peace deal, inflicting heavy casualties |
Photos and videos from the scene circulating on social media showed police forces carrying newborns to emergency medical teams nearby. One photo showed a woman lying on her back crumpled up against a hospital room wall, a small baby lying in her arms. | |
Health officials said the hospital’s maternity health program is one of the most well-respected in Kabul, providing services to thousands of women every month. | |
Ministry of Interior spokesman Tariq Arian called the attack a “crime against all values.” He added, “Any groups that are involved in such attacks are against all human and Islamic values.” | |
The head of Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission, Shaharzad Akbar, condemned the brutality of an attack targeting newborn babies. She wrote in a tweet, “Among their first experiences [is] being targeted in a war they & their mothers had no part in.” | |
Also Tuesday, a suicide bomber attacked a funeral ceremony of a police officer in eastern Afghanistan. The explosion killed 15 and wounded 56, according to the provincial governor’s office. | |
The Taliban denied responsible for both attacks Tuesday. | The Taliban denied responsible for both attacks Tuesday. |
ISIS attack in Kabul leaves 32 dead, more than 80 wounded | ISIS attack in Kabul leaves 32 dead, more than 80 wounded |
Islamic State claims Kabul attack on Sikh minority | Islamic State claims Kabul attack on Sikh minority |
More than a dozen staff members in Afghanistan’s presidential palace test positive for coronavirus | More than a dozen staff members in Afghanistan’s presidential palace test positive for coronavirus |
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world | Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world |
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