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3 Foreign Doctors Killed by Guard at Afghan Hospital 3 American Doctors Killed by Guard at Afghan Hospital
(35 minutes later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — At least three foreign doctors working for an American charity were shot and killed by an Afghan guard on Thursday, Afghan officials said. KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan policeman shot and killed three American doctors at a hospital here on Thursday, according to Afghan police officials.
The attack took place at the Cure International Hospital in Kabul, a 100-bed facility that specializes in treating disabled Afghans and has a maternal care unit that provides support for premature births. The attack took place at the Cure International Hospital in Kabul, a 100-bed facility that specializes in treating disabled Afghans, and has a maternal care unit with support for premature births. The policeman had recently been assigned to guard the hospital.
A senior police official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media, put the death toll at five. But Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said three foreign doctors had been killed by the attacker. Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, said the Afghan guard was shot and wounded in the incident, and was being treated in the hospital and was under guard. However, another Afghan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the policeman tried to shoot himself with his own weapon after the attack.
The Afghan guard was shot and wounded in the incident, Mr. Seddiqi said, and was being treated in the hospital under guard.
The nationalities of the victims were not immediately known, but most of the doctors at the hospital are American, the police official said.
Cure, a Christian-based charity, runs hospitals in 10 countries.Cure, a Christian-based charity, runs hospitals in 10 countries.
Mr. Seddiqi said that the guard had been hired recently by the hospital and that the motive for the attack was unknown. Mr. Seddiqi said the motive for the attack was unknown. A police official identified the killer as Ayudin, from Laghman Province, a two-year veteran of the police force in Kabul; like many Afghans, he goes by only one name.
It was the second apparently unprovoked attack on foreigners by Afghans in recent weeks. On April 4, an Afghan police officer shot and killed a photographer for The Associated Press, Anja Niedringhaus, and wounded a correspondent, Kathy Gannon. It was the second apparently unprovoked attack on foreigners by Afghan policemen in recent weeks. On April 4, an Afghan police officer shot and killed a photographer for The Associated Press, Anja Niedringhaus, and wounded a correspondent, Kathy Gannon.
The Taliban denied any responsibility for that earlier attack, and did not initially claim responsibility for the attack on the hospital.
“We are aware of this shooting at the Cure hospital and our investigation is ongoing, but we do not know if it was carried out by our men,” the Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said when reached by telephone.
Last month, the insurgents attacked what they claimed was a Christian church in Kabul, but instead hit the building next door to it, which was heavily guarded and repelled the attackers. Their apparent target was described by neighbors as a Christian-run day care center, and the dozen or so American residents there had at least five young children, and no guards.
Other Americans with children lived in houses in the neighborhood that were affiliated with the day care center; they declined to talk with journalists.