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3 Americans killed in attack on Kabul hospital Three Americans, including Chicago doctor, killed in attack on Kabul hospital
(about 4 hours later)
KABUL — Three Americans were killed Thursday when an Afghan security official opened fire at an American-run Christian hospital in Kabul in the latest violence targeting foreigners in Afghanistan. KABUL -- Dr. Jerry Umanos was at work by 9 a.m. Thursday, ready for another day in the struggle to treat sick children in dirt-poor Afghanistan. The Chicago resident had spent nearly a decade at a Christian hospital in Kabul, and he loved his work, his colleagues said.
The attack, which also wounded several people, took place about 9 a.m. as doctors and nurses were arriving at the Cure Hospital, which is part of an international network of hospitals run by a Pennsylvania-based charity. The hospital largely focuses on providing medical care to needy children. But as Umanos greeted two American visitors outside the building, an Afghan police officer walked up. Without saying a word, he opened fire, leaving all three dead, officials said.
In a statement, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said: “With great sadness we confirm that three Americans were killed in the attack on CURE Hospital. No other information will be released at this time.” The killings were the latest in a string of deadly assaults on foreign civilians in Afghanistan, who are increasingly being targeted by Taliban militants and renegade Afghan security officials.
One of the dead Americans was identified as Jerry Umanos of Chicago, a Cure International pediatrician of Filipino descent who had worked in Kabul for years and had previously practiced medicine in inner-city Chicago. Afghan Health Minister Soraya Dalil said the two others were a father and son who went to the hospital to meet Umanos. In the past three months, more than 20 foreign civilians have been slain in attacks at a restaurant, an upscale hotel and other venues where expatriates congregate. The dead have included election observers, journalists and aid workers.
Dalil said an American nurse was also wounded in the attack. Javid Kohestani, a retired Afghan army general and Kabul-based security analyst, said Taliban fighters and their sympathizers appear to be stepping up their attacks on civilians as military targets become harder to find due to the withdrawal of remaining forces with the U.S.-led coalition.
Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said the gunman was an Afghan police officer, although other officials described him as a hospital guard. The gunman, who unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide after the shooting, has been arrested, Seddiqi said. They want “to frighten foreigners and disrupt their reconstruction and development work,” Kohestani said.
Umanos was at the hospital gate greeting the two American visitors when the officer suddenly walked up to them and opened fire, killing them, the Health Ministry said. Two others were wounded, according to Cure International. The violence comes as Afghanistan is in the midst of choosing a new president, with final results from the first round of balloting due within days. In the past, violence has flared during presidential campaigns and elections. But it was usually directed at the military or security forces.
The gunman then shot himself but survived and was quickly restrained. He was then taken inside the hospital, where he was treated, along with his victims. Umanos had been working for Cure International Hospital in Kabul, which is part of a network of medical clinics operated by a Pennsylvania-based charity. The organizationa’s mission is to help impoverished countries by delivering “life-changing medical care and the good news of God’s love to children and families with treatable conditions, ” according to the group’s website.
He “has now been transferred out of our facility into the custody of the government of Afghanistan,” Cure said in a statement. It said the gunman was part of a security detail “assigned to the hospital” and was not a member of the hospital staff. The attack occurred as hospital doctors and nurses were arriving for work. The identities of the other two Americans who were killed have not yet been released.
Afghan officials described the two visitors as medical professionals. Cure International said Umanos was the only one of the three who was a member of the Kabul hospital’s staff. But Afghan officials said they were a father and son who were medical professionals on a visit to Afghanistan. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul declined to identify the men, but issued a statement saying the three Americans were “humanitarians … dedicated to improving the lives of Afghans by providing a full range of medical services including reconstructive surgery to children with physical disabilities and pre- and post-natal care for mothers.”
Cure International first began working in Afghanistan in 2002 and opened the hospital in Kabul in 2005 at the request of the Afghan government. It primarily focuses on maternity and pediatric care, officials said. An American nurse was also wounded in the attack, according to Afghan Health Minister Soraya Dalil.
Despite the violence, Cure International said it will continue its work in Afghanistan. Afghan security officials said the gunmen, who had been assigned to help protect the hospital, turned his weapon on himself after shooting the Americans. He survived, and was taken inside the hospital to be treated along with the other patients. He was later released and arrested by Afghan security officials.
“Cure International remains committed to serving the Afghan people,” the organization said. “We are still trying to determine the cause of this attack,” said Abdul Zahir, Kabul’s police chief.
Umanos had been working in Afghanistan for the past 10 years, said a spokeswoman for Lawndale Christian Health Center in Chicago. In a statement, the White House condemned the shooting, calling it “despicable and cowardly.”
In a televised news conference, several hospital doctors and administrators at the hospital said they were shocked by his killing. In Afghanistan, Umanos was aware of the risk of violence. He had gone to a popular Lebanese restaurant in Kabul multiple times before it was attacked by Taliban insurgents in January. And a dentist who lived near him had been killed a few years earlier.
“This loss is a great loss for his family, for those of us he worked with, as well as for the people of Afghanistan,” said Bruce Rowell, a pediatrician at Lawndale. “He was a loving, caring physician who served all of his patients with the utmost respect.” “He knew the dangers,” said Art Jones, the founding chief executive of Lawndale Christian Health Center in inner-city Chicago, an institution that Umanos had been affiliated with for 25 years. “But he was really drawn to serving those kids.”
Abdul Zahir, Kabul’s police chief, said investigators “are trying to determine the cause of this attack.” Umanos, a pediatrician, had gotten his first introduction to Afghanistan when he visited a couple he knew from the clinic who had gone to the poor country to help people with tuberculosis.
The White House condemned the killings, noting that the three Americans were “working to provide health care to Afghans.” Umanos decided that you could eventually find people to work in impoverished areas of Chicago, “but there weren’t a lot of people willing to come work in Afghanistan,” Jones recalled.
Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said in a statement: “Any such attack on civilians at a hospital is despicable and cowardly. . . . The United States continues to strongly support those in Afghanistan who abhor this violence and are working to build a peaceful, prosperous future for themselves. We remain proud of all Americans serving in Afghanistan, working shoulder-to-shoulder with Afghan partners toward our shared goal of a sovereign, stable, secure, and democratic Afghanistan.” So Umanos began spending the majority of the year in Afghanistan, coming back for a periods of a month or two to work at Lawndale and spend time with his family before returning, Jones said.
In addition to his work with Cure, Umanos had been the community health coordinator for Empowerment Health, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the health of Afghan women and children. Umanos had helped form the group’s community health programs and had led research efforts. In a televised news conference, Lawndale doctors and administrators said they were grief-stricken.
Umanos had worked for years to develop training programs to give Afghan women better health education and skills, according to Evan A. Russell, co-founder of Empowerment Health. “This loss is a great loss for his family, for those of us he worked with as well as for the people of Afghanistan,” said Bruce Rowell, the medical director of clinical quality at the center.
In addition to his work with Cure, Umanos had been the community health coordinator for Empowerment Health, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the health of Afghan women and children.
Umanos had worked for years to develop training programs to give Afghan women better health education and skills, according to Evan A. Russell, co-founder of the nonprofit.
“Our efforts in the community will continue on, and we remain deeply committed to the mission to which he devoted his life, but Jerry’s daily impact on this program, and on so many other people, will be missed forever,” Russell said in an e-mail to The Washington Post.“Our efforts in the community will continue on, and we remain deeply committed to the mission to which he devoted his life, but Jerry’s daily impact on this program, and on so many other people, will be missed forever,” Russell said in an e-mail to The Washington Post.
The attack comes as foreigners in Afghanistan face heightened concern about their safety amid a wave of brazen violence. The attack comes as foreigners living and working in Afghanistan were already rattled by the wave of brazen violence.
Over the past three months, as Afghanistan is in the midst of electing a new president, 20 foreigners have been killed in separate attacks targeting civilians. The attacks have occurred at a popular restaurant, an upscale hotel and other venues where foreigners congregate. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for much of the violence, including a March 20 assault on the Serena Hotel in Kabul that killed nine civilians, among them two Canadians and a U.S.-Bangladeshi dual national. But some of the attacks have been carried out by Afghan security officials.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for much of the violence, including a March 20 assault on the Serena Hotel in Kabul that killed nine people, including two Canadians. For years, the U.S.-led military coalition has struggled to combat so-called “green-on-blue” attacks in which Afghan soldiers have turned their weapons on NATO troops who were training or supervising them.
The violence is accelerating the pace at which foreigners are fleeing Kabul, a city that until recently has provided relative security for aid workers, journalists and civilian contractors. Increasingly, , civilians are also vulnerable to such attacks.
With Thursday’s shooting, the dangers facing foreigners are heightened by what appear to be increasing random attacks by Afghan security officials. For years, the U.S.-led coalition has struggled to combat so-called “green-on-blue” attacks in which Afghan soldiers have turned their weapons on NATO troops who were training or supervising them.
Now, however, civilians are also vulnerable to such attacks.
Three weeks ago, an Afghan police officer shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is great) before shooting an Associated Press photographer and reporter who were sitting in a vehicle in Khost province in eastern Afghanistan. The photographer, Anja Niedringhaus, a German citizen, was killed. The reporter, Kathy Gannon, a Canadian, was seriously wounded.Three weeks ago, an Afghan police officer shouted “Allahu akbar” (God is great) before shooting an Associated Press photographer and reporter who were sitting in a vehicle in Khost province in eastern Afghanistan. The photographer, Anja Niedringhaus, a German citizen, was killed. The reporter, Kathy Gannon, a Canadian, was seriously wounded.
That attack occurred one month after Swedish journalist Nils Horner was shot and killed in a brazen midday attack in Kabul. Horner, who was based in Hong Kong and had just arrived in Kabul to cover the run-up to the April 5 Afghan elections, was shot by several men as he walked down a street near a heavily fortified diplomatic compound. That attack occurred one month after Swedish journalist Nils Horner was shot and killed in a brazen midday attack in Kabul.
Javid Kohestani, a retired Afghan army general and Kabul-based security analyst, said Taliban fighters and their sympathizers appear to be stepping up their attacks on civilians as military targets become harder to find due to the ongoing withdrawal of most remaining coalition forces. Cure hospitals were founded in 1996 by Scott Harrison and his wife, Sally, to help children with disabilities.
They want “to frighten foreigners and disrupt their reconstruction and development work,” Kohestani said. “Their initial targets now seem to be Americans and Europeans, but they may also target Muslim foreigners to show that security is getting worse.” The hospital in Kabul opened in 2005 and has a staff of 27 doctors and 64 nurses, according to Cure International. It treats 37,000 patients annually.
Cure hospitals were founded in 1996 by Scott Harrison and his wife, Sally Harrison, to help children with disabilities. The motto of the organization, based in central Pennsylvania, is delivering “life-changing medical care and the good news of God’s love to children and families with treatable conditions.” Thursday’s shooting marks the second time in less than a month that a Christian charity has come under attack in Kabul.
It operates hospitals in Afghanistan, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Over the years, the organization has provided more than 150,000 life-saving surgeries, according to its Web site.
The hospital in Kabul opened in 2005 and has a staff of 27 doctors and 64 nurses. It treats 37,000 patients annually.
Though the motives of the gunman remain unknown, the incident marks the second time in less than a month that a Christian charity has come under attack in Kabul.
In late March, the Taliban unsuccessfully tried to storm a heavily guarded guesthouse for employees of the Roots of Peace, a San Francisco-based organization that focuses on agricultural projects.In late March, the Taliban unsuccessfully tried to storm a heavily guarded guesthouse for employees of the Roots of Peace, a San Francisco-based organization that focuses on agricultural projects.
That guesthouse was located next to a Christian charity and day-care center, which may have been the intended target of that attack. That guesthouse was located next to a Christian charity and day-care center, which may have been the intended target of that assault.
In January, three Americans died when Taliban fighters stormed a popular Lebanese restaurant in Kabul, killing a total of 21 people who were seated for dinner. Despite the violence, Cure International said in a statement Thursday it will not abandon Afghans.
Sayed Salahuddin in Kabul and William Branigin and Mark Berman in Washington contributed to this report. “Cure International remains committed to serving the Afghan people,” the organization said.
Berman reported from Washington. Sayed Salahuddin in Kabul and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.