Three gunmen wearing white lab coats spray bullets after a suicide bomber on foot blows himself up at the backdoor entrance, sparking chaos
Two Afghan men weep for their relatives in front of the main gate of a military hospital in Kabul. Pics/AFP
Kabul: Gunmen dressed as doctors stormed Afghanistan's largest military hospital yesterday, killing more than 30 people in a six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State group as it makes inroads into the war-battered country.
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Around 50 others were wounded in the assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital. Medical staff hunkered down in the hospital wards posted desperate messages for help on social media.
after a deadly six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State group.
Hospital administrators said three gunmen wearing white laboratory coats began spraying bullets after a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up at the backdoor entrance, sparking chaos inside the 400-bed facility. At least two other loud explosions – including what the defence ministry called a car bomb in the hospital's parking lot – were heard as Afghan special forces launched a clearance operation that lasted around six hours. The attackers were gunned down after special forces landed on the roof of the hospital in a military helicopter. "More than 30 people were killed and around 50 wounded in the attack," said defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri.
IS jihadists claimed the attack via a verified Telegram account. The more powerful Taliban said they were not behind the raid. The militant group, Afghanistan's largest, is known to distance itself from attacks on medical facilities or those that result in high civilian casualties.
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