Gunmen dressed as medics fought security forces for hours in assault on military hospital in Afghan capital

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Kabul military hospital by gunmen disguised as doctors who entered the facility and battled security forces for hours.

At least 38 people died and dozens more were injured, the hospital said.

The attack began with a suicide bombing at the rear of the hospital complex in the Afghan capital. Officials said at least three gunmen dressed as medical staff then entered the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan facility and took up positions on the upper floors.

A second explosion was heard as Afghan special forces engaged the gunmen and “heavy fighting” ensued, a defence ministry spokesman said. An earlier death toll of three was revised upwards after security forces carried out checks in the aftermath of the fighting.

Isis’s Afghan wing has claimed responsibility, according to a report by the Isis-affiliated Amaq news agency. A November suicide attack on a crowded mosque, claimed by the same group, killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens.

Isis was also accused by local officials of killing six Red Cross employees in an ambush on a convoy in northern Afghanistan last month. It has claimed at least two other attacks on minority Shias in Kabul since last July.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An unverified photo released by Isis purporting to show one of the Kabul hospital attackers. Photograph: Amaq

Afghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, said the latest attack “trampled on all human values”. “In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan,” he said, during an address in Kabul for International Women’s Day.

Abdul Qadir, a hospital employee, told Reuters he saw a gunman dressed in a white doctor’s coat take out an AK-47 assault rifle and open fire, killing at least one patient and a hospital worker.



Reuters reported that patients could be seen climbing out of the building and sheltering on window ledges outside the hospital, across the road from the heavily fortified US embassy.

Isis has been active in Afghanistan since 2014 but maintains a far smaller presence – and poses far less of an existential threat to the Afghan state – than the Taliban, who continue to be responsible for the majority of violence in the country.

Hundreds of US airstrikes in the past year have helped to limit the group’s influence to a handful of districts in and around the eastern Nangarhar province, though Wednesday’s attack showed it continues to have the ability to strike outside those areas.

Gen John Nicholson, the most senior US commander in Afghanistan, has claimed American efforts have killed about one-third of Isis’s fighters and shrunk its territory by two-thirds.

The Afghan affiliate’s leader, Hafiz Saeed Khan, was killed in a US drone strike in August.

The group’s support among local people has also been limited by its trademark brutality and imposition of a blinkered vision of Islam – including bans on smoking and poppy cultivation and the annulment of government-officiated weddings – in spite of local customs.

Analysts have put the number of Isis fighters in Afghanistan at up to 2,000, though a close assessment is difficult to establish because of the uncertain toll of casualties and success of recruitment drives.

The Taliban claimed an attack last week on a police station and intelligence service office in the capital that killed and wounded dozens.







</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen dressed as doctors stormed Afghanistan’s largest military hospital on Wednesday, killing more than 30 people and wounding dozens more, officials and witnesses said.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on Sardar Dawood Khan hospital, which is located near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul’s diplomatic area.

Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Dawlat Waziri said a suicide bomber blew himself up at the southern gate of the facility. Three other attackers dressed in hospital uniforms then entered with guns and began shooting.

“Our forces landed on the roof of the hospital from helicopters and were bravely fighting the enemies,” Waziri said.

Clashes between the militants and security forces were still underway hours later. As the fighting dragged on, a second explosion was heard from within the building.

By late afternoon, 30 people had been killed, in addition to four attackers, Waziri said.

Ismail Kawoosi, a Health Ministry spokesman, said 66 injured people were rushed to two other nearby hospitals for treatment, some of whom were in critical condition.

“I was going to visit the children’s hospital, which is across from Sardar Dawood Khan hospital, when suddenly I heard a blast and shooting started,” said Said Sardarwali, a Kabul resident. He said the attackers were wearing white doctors’ gowns. The NATO-led international military coalition said on Twitter: “Once again insurgents show complete disrespect for humanity by attacking a hospital. We stand ready to assist Afghan security services.”

The attack came one week after a pair of Taliban suicide bombings targeted Afghan security forces in Kabul, killing at least 16 people.

U.S. troops have been helping the Afghans battle Islamic State in eastern Afghanistan since early last year.

U.S. and Afghan forces describe their fight against the militants as a success, saying they’ve reduced numbers from between 2,000 and 3,000 a year ago to some 700 today.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing on a peaceful demonstration in Kabul in July that killed more than 80 people in one of the deadliest bombings in the country in years. Just last month, the group said it was behind an attack on Afghanistan’s Supreme Court that left over 20 people dead.

The string of recent attacks in Kabul follows warnings by local officials that the capital could see an uptick in violence this year from emboldened Taliban insurgents as well as militant groups like Islamic State.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AFP) — Gunmen disguised as doctors stormed Afghanistan’s largest military hospital Wednesday, killing at least 38 people in a six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State group as it makes inroads into the war-battered country.

More than 70 others were wounded in the assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, with explosions and gunfire rattling Kabul’s diplomatic district as dense clouds of smoke rose in the sky.

Medical staff hunkered down in the hospital wards posted desperate messages for help on social media, with television footage showing some of them trapped on the ledge of a top-floor window.

“Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us,” a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook.

Hospital administrators told AFP 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.

“I saw one of the attackers, armed with an AK-47 and dressed as a doctor, shooting at patients and guards on the third floor,” hospital nurse Abdul Qadeer told AFP.

“They shot my friend but I managed to flee… I had to jump over the barbed wire to escape.”

With his voice trembling, nurse Abdul Qadeer recalled the horror of coming face-to-face with one of the gunmen who stormed Kabul’s main military hospital, as his terrified colleagues leapt out of high-floor windows to save themselves.

Startled by the loud cracks of gunfire, Qadeer, an operating room nurse, was fleeing for his life when he saw one of the AK47-toting attackers, spraying bullets at screaming patients and guards on the third floor.

“My friend was shot in front of me,” Qadeer told AFP. “I was stuck for a while, but then I had to jump in order to escape.”

Majid Mojib, in charge of the hospital’s intensive care unit, broke a leg as he plunged from a third-floor window.

“I saw in horror that doctors, patients, everybody was screaming as they were chased by gunmen spraying bullets indiscriminately,” Mojib told AFP while receiving treatment in another city hospital.

“Many did not survive. It was a massacre.”

As the carnage dragged on for six hours, relatives of the victims gathered outside the hospital, anxious, tearful and angry at security officials for failing to stop the attackers.

“My brother (an Afghan soldier) was wounded in the battlefield but got killed in this military hospital,” an angry man shouted.

“He was killed in a place where he should have been treated and protected.”

At least two other loud explosions — including what the defense 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.

“The attack in the capital’s central Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood has killed 38 people and wounded more than 70,” the Italian-run Emergency hospital said in a statement, adding that a seven-year-old boy was among those seriously injured.

The Sardar Mohammed Daud Khan facility is considered the jewel in the crown of the Afghan health service and it receives dozens of soldiers every day who have been wounded fighting the Taliban, as well as insurgents themselves.

The raid highlights how Afghanistan’s warring parties, including government forces, have repeatedly targeted medical facilities, decimating the country’s fragile health system and preventing conflict-displaced civilians from accessing life-saving care.

“This egregious and morally reprehensible attack targeted people at their most vulnerable, while they were receiving treatment in the hospital, and also targeted the medical staff caring for them,” said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

“This cowardly attack reflects a fundamental rejection of the most basic principles of humanity. Without question, it amounts to an atrocity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.”

The more powerful Taliban said they were not behind the raid. The group is known to distance itself from attacks on medical facilities or those that result in high civilian casualties.

The assault comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.

Dozens of others were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker sneaked in.

In the second attack last week, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The carnage underscores rising insecurity. The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the government’s repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent “ghost soldiers” on the payroll, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Kabul last month endorsed US General John Nicholson’s call for thousands of additional coalition troops to hold off the militants before the spring offensive.

Extra troops were needed to end the stalemate in the war, Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told the US Congress in what could be President Donald Trump’s first major test of military strategy</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — Gunmen dressed as doctors stormed a military hospital in Kabul Wednesday, killing at least two people and wounding dozens more, officials and witnesses said.

Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Dawlat Waziri said a suicide bomber blew himself up at a gate of Sardar Dawood Khan hospital, the country's biggest military hospital. Three other attackers dressed in hospital uniforms entered with guns and began shooting.

“Our forces landed on the roof of the hospital from helicopters and were bravely fighting the enemies,” Waaziri said.

Ismail Kawoosi from the Health Ministry said at least two people were killed and 25 others injured, but that the number of casualties could rise. The bodies were being brought to other nearby hospitals, said Health Ministry official Ismail Kawoosi“I was going to visit the children’s hospital, which is across from Sardar Dawood Khan hospital, when suddenly I heard a blast and shooting started,” said Said Sardarwali, a Kabul resident. He said the attackers were wearing white doctors’ gowns.

The NATO-led international military coalition said on Twitter: “Once again insurgents show complete disrespect for humanity by attacking a hospital We stand ready to assist Afghan security services.”

The Taliban did not immediately confirm whether the group was responsible for the attack. The insurgents claimed responsibility for two separate attacks against security forces in Kabul last week that killed at least 16 people.

An attack on the Supreme Court compound in January, in which more than 20 people died, was claimed by the local affiliate of the Islamic State group.

The string of attacks comes after warnings by authorities that Kabul could experience an uptick in violence this year as emboldened militants intensify their insurgency.</s>Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on a military hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday in which gunmen dressed as doctors slipped into the facility and battled security forces inside the building for several hours.

The attack began when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the rear of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital and three attackers with automatic weapons and hand grenades entered the complex, security officials said.

The gunmen, dressed as medical personnel, had taken position on upper floors of the hospital and engaged special forces sent to the scene, officials said.

Security forces blocked off the area around the hospital, near a busy traffic intersection and special forces soldiers descended on to the roof of the main building from helicopters. As fighting went on, a second explosion was heard from inside.

"Our forces are there and there is heavy fighting," said defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri. He said one attacker had been killed and another two were holding out, while one soldier had been killed and three wounded.</s>Gunmen dressed as doctors stormed Afghanistan's largest military hospital on Wednesday, officials said, in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group as it makes inroads into the war-battered country.

The ongoing assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital left at least three people dead and 66 others wounded, health officials reported, with explosions and gunfire rattling Kabul's diplomatic district as dense clouds of smoke rose in the sky.

Medical staff hunkered down in the hospital wards posted desperate messages for help on social media, with local television footage showing some of them trapped on the ledge of a top floor window.

"Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us," a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook.

Hospital administrators told AFP three gunmen wearing white laboratory coats were on the loose after a suicide bomber on foot blew himself up at the backdoor entrance, sparking chaos inside the 400-bed facility.

"I saw one of the attackers, armed with an AK-47 and dressed as doctor, shooting at patients and guards on the third floor," hospital nurse Abdul Qadeer told AFP.

"They shot my friend but I managed to flee... I had to jump over the barbed wire to escape."

At least two other loud explosions -- including what the defense ministry called a car bomb in the hospital's parking lot -- were heard as Afghan special forces launched a clearance operation to rein in the attackers.

"Three attackers armed with AK-47s and grenades entered the building. Our commandos are chasing them," ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri told AFP four hours after the first explosion.

"One of them has been killed, but two others are still resisting on the sixth and seventh floors of the building. We have evacuated all the patients."

Afghanistan's warring parties, including government forces, have repeatedly targeted medical facilities, decimating the country's fragile health system and preventing conflict-displaced civilians from accessing life saving care.

"This is a criminal act. Nothing can justify an attack on hospitals," Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said of the latest attack.

"We will never forgive these criminals. Unfortunately, this attack has resulted in some casualties."

The more powerful Taliban said they were not behind the attack. The militant group, Afghanistan's largest, is known to distance itself from attacks on medical facilities or those that result in high civilian casualties.

The assault comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.

Dozens of others were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker snuck in.

In the second attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The carnage underscores rising insecurity in Afghanistan. The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the government's repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent "ghost soldiers" on the payrolls, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Kabul last month endorsed US general John Nicholson's call for thousands of additional coalition troops in Afghanistan to fend off the militants before the spring offensive.

Extra troops were needed to end the stalemate in the war, Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told the US Congress in what could be President Donald Trump's first major test of military strategy.</s>KABUL: Gunmen dressed as medics stormed a hospital in the Afghan capital on Wednesday and battled security forces for hours, killing more than 38 people and wounding dozens in an attack claimed by the militant Islamic State group.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the rear of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital, across the road from the heavily fortified US embassy, and three attackers with automatic weapons and hand grenades entered the complex, security officials said.

Defence Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said the attack was suppressed by mid-afternoon, with all three gunmen killed.

As security forces swept the hospital buildings, another ministry spokesman said they found at least 30 dead and 50 wounded, including doctors, patients and hospital staff, in addition to the three killed and 66 wounded reported earlier.

The gunmen, dressed as medical personnel, had taken up positions on the upper floors of the hospital and engaged special forces sent to the scene, officials said.

Security forces blocked off the area around the hospital, near a busy traffic intersection, and special forces’ soldiers descended on to the roof of the main building from helicopters.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard for hours and, as fighting went on, there was a second explosion, which a spokesman said was caused when a car inside the hospital complex blew up.

A statement from Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency said its fighters had attacked the hospital, while an Afghan Taliban spokesman denied responsibility, saying Taliban had “no connection” with the attack.

The raid on the hospital followed warnings by government officials that high-profile attacks in Kabul were likely to escalate this year.

With US President Don­ald Trump yet to announce his policy for Afghanistan, where the top US commander has said thousands more international troops may be needed to maintain stability, the attack also pointed to Islamic State’s growing threat.

The movement, opposed to both the Western-backed government in Kabul and the Taliban, is based in the Middle East but has established a solid presence on the border with Pakistan.

It has also mounted several high-profile attacks on civilians in Kabul over the past year, including several on prominent Shia targets.

The attack on a hospital that treats military casualties from around Afghanis­tan drew wide condemnation and President Ashraf Ghani said it “trampled on all human values”.

“In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan,” he said in impromptu remarks during a speech for International Women’s Day in Kabul.

The Nato-led Resolute Support mission said it was ready to assist Afghan security services, while the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said the attack on hospital staff and patients not involved in the conflict amounted to a war crime.

Witnesses inside the hospital said they were caught by surprise as a gunman dressed in a white doctor’s coat took out a concealed AK-47 assault rifle and opened fire, killing at least one patient and one hospital worker.

“Suddenly gunfire broke out and a gunman was shooting at everyone,” said Zahir Khan, who hid under a table and later escaped.

“He was shooting at doctors, patients and visitors.” As the fighting went on, some patients climbed out of the building and could be seen sheltering on window ledges.

The attack came just a week after dozens of people were killed and wounded in coordinated attacks on a police station and an office of the intelligence service in Kabul.

That attack was claimed by the Taliban, who are seeking to expel foreign troops, defeat the US-backed government and reimpose Islamic law after their 2001 ouster.

Away from Kabul, dozens of people have been killed over the past few days in fighting across Afghanistan, from Kunduz and Baghlan in the north to Farah in the southwest and Helmand and Kandahar on the Pakistan border in the south.—Reuters

Our Staff Reporter in Islamabad adds: Pakistan renewed its pledge for cooperation against terrorism to Afghanistan as it condemned the attack and condoled with the bereaved families.

“We reaffirm our commitment to cooperation with the Afghan government and the international community for elimination of the scourge of terrorism,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

“Pakistan reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”</s>As families and friends mourn the loss of those killed in an attack on a military hospital in Kabul, Afghan officials launched an investigation on those responsible for the assault.

Gunmen dressed in white lab coats stormed the Sardar Daud Khan hospital in the centre of the capital on Wednesday, firing shots, detonating explosives and then battling security forces for hours. The assault resulted in the death of more than 40 people.

The Afghan interior ministry and the defence ministry on Thursday announced a probe into a claim by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) armed group that it was behind the attack.

“We are assessing Daesh claims to yesterday’s attack, but at this stage we can’t make a prejudgment prior to conclusion of investigation,” Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesperson of the Afghan ministry of interior said in a tweet, using an Arabic acronym for ISIL, also known as ISIS.

“Brutal terrorist groups like ISIS (ISIL), Taliban, Haqqani and many other regional terrorist networks with safe havens in Pakistan have been behind many horrific attacks in the past,” he added.

The Afghan Taliban, which attacked the Sardar Daud Khan hospital in 2013 killing six people, denied responsibility for Wednesday’s assault.

According to US military officials, ISIL has about 700 fighters in Afghanistan. The group has previously claimed responsibility for a number of attacks that resulted in a large number of casualties, including a twin suicide bombing at a protest march in Kabul last year that left at least 80 people dead.

As reports emerged of ISIL’s claim of responsibility, some analysts said the group does not have the capacity to conduct an attack of this magnitude.

“[ISIL] is still trying to gain a foothold in the east of the country,” Inayatullah Kakar, an Afghan security and political analyst, told a foreign news publication.

“ISIL does exist in Afghanistan, but for them to conduct an attack like this in an area that is heavily guarded and with this calibre that killed so many people, it doesn’t seem possible, as they are still trying to gain territories in eastern Afghanistan, while fighting the Taliban.”

The UN Security Council also denounced the attack in a statement released on Thursday and urged the international community to cooperate with the Afghan government to bring those responsible to justice and to suppress the financing of “terrorism”.

The death toll has risen to 49 with dozens wounded, a senior health official said on Thursday.

Salim Rassouli, director of Kabul hospitals, said 49 people had been killed in the attack on the Sardar Mohammad Khan military hospital on Wednesday, with at least 63 wounded.

Some uncertainty remained over the exact figure and one security official said more than 90 people had been wounded. Earlier estimates had put the number of dead at more than 30 with 50 wounded.

Gunmen went through the 400-bed hospital, shooting doctors, patients and visitors and battling security forces for several hours in a sophisticated operation claimed by Islamic State.</s>KABUL - Gunmen disguised as doctors stormed Afghanistan’s largest military hospital Wednesday, killing at least 38 people in a six-hour attack claimed by the Islamic State group as it makes inroads into the war-battered country.

More than 70 others were wounded in the assault on the Sardar Daud Khan hospital, with explosions and gunfire rattling Kabul’s diplomatic district as dense clouds of smoke rose in the sky.

Medical staff hunkered down in the hospital wards posted desperate messages for help on social media, with television footage showing some of them trapped on the ledge of a top-floor window. “Attackers are inside the hospital. Pray for us,” a hospital staff member wrote on Facebook.

Hospital administrators told AFP 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.

“I saw one of the attackers, armed with an AK-47 and dressed as a doctor, shooting at patients and guards on the third floor,” hospital nurse Abdul Qadeer told AFP. “They shot my friend but I managed to flee... I had to jump over the barbed wire to escape.”

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.

“The attack in the capital’s central Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood has killed 38 people and wounded more than 70,” the Italian-run Emergency hospital said in a statement, adding that a seven-year-old boy was among those seriously injured.

The raid highlights how Afghanistan’s warring parties, including government forces, have repeatedly targeted medical facilities, decimating the country’s fragile health system and preventing conflict-displaced civilians from accessing life-saving care.

“This egregious and morally reprehensible attack targeted people at their most vulnerable, while they were receiving treatment in the hospital, and also targeted the medical staff caring for them,” said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

“This cowardly attack reflects a fundamental rejection of the most basic principles of humanity. Without question, it amounts to an atrocity, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.”

Islamic State 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.

Patient Zia Zabuli was lucky to escape the attack. In hospital because of a leg wound, he and three others hid in a room and barricaded themselves in when they saw one of the gunmen approaching. “Together we put beds, chairs and whatever there was behind the door,” he told Reuters an hour or so after a prolonged battle ended in the late afternoon.

From their hiding place, they heard gunfire and the sound of explosions from hand grenades as special forces troops battled the three militants.

At one point, one of the assailants tried to break into the room where he was hiding. “He came up to our door and kicked it several times but it did not open. Then he left,” said Zabuli, who was still wearing his hospital pyjamas as he limped away from the scene supported by a relative. “We stayed quiet and prayed for our safety.”

According to witnesses, the gunmen were already inside the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital in the Afghan capital when a suicide bomb went off outside, signalling the start of the carnage.

When the blast went off at around 9 am local time, doctor’s assistant Ahmad Mahmoodi looked up and saw a gunman on the second floor of the main building shooting indiscriminately at the hospital entrance below. A security guard was killed and another person was shot in the arm.

“I was in the corridor and jumped inside the emergency ward and from one of its windows, I jumped out,” he said.

Throughout the 400-bed complex, Afghanistan’s largest military hospital, medical staff, patients and visitors scrambled for cover as the attackers went through the buildings.

Ghulam Hazrat was with his wounded brother when the gunmen appeared and shot two other visitors. He jumped out of the building, but added: “My brother is inside.”

One man, who did not give his name, said he had received a telephone call from his brother, who was taking care of their wounded father when the attack happened.

“He told us that he was carrying our father on his back,” he said. “Now my uncle who is inside the hospital has just called and told us both were martyred. He said their bodies were next to each other.”

The assault comes just a week after 16 people were killed in simultaneous Taliban suicide assaults on two security compounds in Kabul.

Dozens of others were wounded as a suicide car bomber struck an Afghan police precinct in western Kabul and a five-hour gun battle ensued after another attacker sneaked in. In the second attack last week, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the gates of an Afghan intelligence agency branch in eastern Kabul.

The carnage underscores rising insecurity. The country is bracing for an intense fighting season in the spring as the government’s repeated bids to launch peace negotiations with the Taliban have failed.

Afghan forces, already beset by record casualties, desertions and non-existent “ghost soldiers” on the payroll, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led NATO troops ended their combat mission in December 2014.

Kabul last month endorsed US General John Nicholson’s call for thousands of additional coalition troops to hold off the militants before the spring offensive.

Extra troops were needed to end the stalemate in the war, Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told the US Congress in what could be President Donald Trump’s first major test of military strategy.</s>A number of attackers on Wednesday opened fire at the largest military hospital in Kabul.

The Sardar Daud Khan hospital also known as Charsad Bestar located in Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul was attacked around 9:00 a.m. this morning.

Following a blast, gunfire also heard from the hospital.

Initial reports suggest that the attackers have entered the second and third floor of the hospital and a gun battle is continuing between the Afghan security forces and the attackers.

An eyewitness said the attackers were dressed like doctors wearing white gowns.

No group has so far claimed the responsibility behind the attack.

The NATO Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms and said that they were aware of the attack and “are monitoring the situation”.

“We stand ready to assist Afghan security services,” the mission said in a statement,” we stand with Afghan people against terrorism.”

Afghan leaders who were addressing a ceremony on International Women’s Day condemned the attack at military hospital in Kabul and called it a crime.

President Ghani called the attack as an attack on all Afghans and an attack which violated human rights.

The 400-bed hospital is the largest military hospital providing medical assistance to wounded Afghan security forces.
A suicide bomber and unidentified gunmen dressed as doctors attack a military hospital in Kabul, killing at least 38 people and wounding dozens more. ISIL claims responsibility for the attack.