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ConflictsAfghanistan

Afghanistan: Several dead after Kabul hospital explosions

November 2, 2021

The attack was claimed by the local chapter of "Islamic State," which has been behind a number of similar incidents in recent months.

https://p.dw.com/p/42SxO
Smoke rises from a Kabul hospital
Smoke could be seen rising from the site of the explosion in the capitalImage: AFP

At least 19 people died and 50 were injured in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Tuesday, after six gunmen and two explosions hit a military hospital. Witnesses also reported hearing gunfire and seeing smoke billow from the building.

A local chapter of the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) has claimed responsibility for the blasts.

The group has carried out a number of bloody attacks across Afghanistan in recent months. Hibatullah Jamal, the Taliban official from the Defense Ministry, said two of the six attackers were captured.

The IS violence has been one of several factors complicating the Taliban's attempts to maintain order since seizing power in August.

The explosions took place at the entrance of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital in central Kabul, Interior Ministry spokesman Qari Saeed Khosty said, adding that security forces had been sent to the area.

Kabul under the Taliban

"There are casualties among both our personnel and civilians," said Jamal. Photographs shared by residents showed a plume of smoke over
the area of the blasts near the former diplomatic zone in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of the city. Witnesses said that at least two helicopters flew over the area as the assault went on.

Hospital site of previous attacks

The same hospital suffered similar attacks in 2011 and 2017. The 2011 incident killed six people when a Taliban suicide bomber entered the building. In 2017, gunmen dressed as medical staff opened fire and killed 30 people. Some have blamed the latter incident on IS, though many Afghan officials suspect the Haqqani family crime network, members of whom are now in the Taliban government.

Although both IS and the Taliban are hardline Sunni Islamist militants, they have differences in their interpretation of Muslim law and on strategy. Each has declared the other an enemy.

The Taliban swept through Afghanistan in August as foreign forces led by the United States pulled out of the country. No foreign government recognizes their administration and they have struggled to keep the country running as they re-implement their repressive understanding of Sharia law.

es,nm/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)