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Daesh claims responsibility for deadly attack on Kabul military hospital

Ambulances are seen as Taliban take security measures after a military hospital was hit by twin bombings in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on November 2, 2021. (Photo by Anadolu news agency)

The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing attack on a military hospital in the Afghan capital of Kabul that left at least 25 people dead and more than twice as many injured.

The terrorist outfit said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Tuesday that five of its fighters had carried out “simultaneous coordinated attacks" on the medical site, with one fighter detonating an explosive belt at the entrance of the hospital before the storming of the facility by other fighters and opening fire on the personnel.

The 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital, Afghanistan’s biggest military hospital, was targeted by multiple bomb blasts earlier in the day.

Media reports cited eyewitnesses as saying that the explosions, followed by indiscriminate gunfire, led to chaos inside and outside the busy hospital.

The latest casualty toll said at least 25 people had lost their lives and more than 50 others sustained injuries as a result of the bombing attack.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Daesh terrorists “wanted to target civilians, doctors and patients in the hospital,” claiming that Taliban forces had repulsed the attack within 15 minutes.

Mujahid said Taliban “special forces” were dropped onto the roof of the hospital from one of the helicopters that the group had seized from Afghanistan’s former US-backed government.

The Taliban spokesman added that four Daesh terrorists were killed while a fifth one was captured.

UN condemns blasts at Kabul hospital

The United Nation’s mission in Afghanistan condemned the “horrific” blasts at the military hospital in Kabul and said such attacks targeting medical personnel and civilians seeking treatment are in contravention of human rights and international humanitarian law.

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stressed in a tweet that those responsible for the attack need to be held to account.

“UN condemns today’s horrific attack on a hospital in #Kabul. Attacks targeting medical personnel and civilians seeking treatment are violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Those responsible need to be held to account,” the UNAMA tweeted.

The Tuesday’s attack was the worst since the twin bombings outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul late August, which killed at least 175 people.

The Taliban militant group retook control of Afghanistan on August 15, two decades after they were ousted from power as a result of a US-led military invasion of the country.

Taliban’s seizure of power came in the wake of the withdrawal of US and foreign forces from Afghanistan. Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also fled the country and the power vacuum gave rise to the recurrence of tensions and the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group taking advantage of the chaos.

On September 7, the Taliban announced the formation of a caretaker government, which has yet to be formally recognized by the international community.

Daesh has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in Afghanistan. The ongoing violence after the Taliban takeover has plunged Afghanistan into a dire situation, with international aid agencies calling for urgent action to support millions of struggling Afghans.


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