Gunmen Attack Maternity Hospital In Kabul Killing 14, Including Mothers, Nurses & 2 Newborns

On Tuesday, gunmen set off an explosion at the entrance of one of Kabul's busiest hospitals before storming the building, which includes a maternity ward, killing 14, including two newborns.

The Afghan security forces battled with the attackers for hours. While the battle was underway, Afghan security forces struggled to evacuate the facility, carrying out babies and frantic young mothers, according to images shared by the Interior Ministry.

Soon after the Kabul attack started, black smoke rose into the sky over the hospital in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shiite neighborhood that has been the site of many past attacks by Islamic State militants. The Interior Ministry spokesman, Tareq Arian, said over 100 women and babies were evacuated from the building before it was over.

At least 14 people were #killed including newborn babies, women, 15 others wounded after an unrest attack on a maternity hospital in Kabul, May 12, 2020. According to the officials, the attack began followed by explosions and gunfire near a maternity hospital in the PD-13 Kabul. pic.twitter.com/suWaai4xX2

¡ª Afghan Multimedia Agency (@AgencyAfghan) May 12, 2020

Arian said 15 others, including women, men and children were wounded in the attack. Three foreign nationals were among those safely evacuated, he said, without elaborating. It was unclear why the maternity hospital in Dashti Barchi, a 100-bed facility, was targeted, an attack Arian said was an ``act against humanity and a war crime.''

AP

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Kabul, where both the Taliban and the IS frequently target Afghan military and security forces, as well as civilians. The Taliban denied they were involved.

Photos shared by the Interior Ministry during the Kabul attack show newborn babies and their mothers being carried out of the hospital by Afghan security forces.

He came out of the Kabul hospital that was attacked today to read the names of the dozen mothers whose children had been evacuated.

What about the mothers, they asked?

I don¡¯t know about the mothers, he said, I helped put 15 mothers into body bags myself. pic.twitter.com/ea90awRF03

¡ª Mujib Mashal (@MujMash) May 12, 2020

By mid-afternoon, the ministry issued a statement saying three attackers had stormed the hospital and that one was shot and killed while the other two were still resisting arrest. The first floor of the clinic was cleared but the operation was ongoing to secure the rest of the building, the statement said.

A few hours later, the ministry released another statement, saying all three attackers were dead and that the operation was over.

AFP

In the evening hours, husbands, fathers and family members of the hospital's patients gathered around the site in Dashti Barchi, desperate for news of their loved ones. A man read out the names of those who had been evacuated to other hospitals.

But the day's spasm of violence extended beyond Kabul. A suicide bomber in eastern Nangarhar province _ a hotbed of the Islamic State group _ targeted a funeral ceremony, killing 24 people and wounding 68. And in eastern Khost province, a bomb planted in a cart in a market killed a child and wounded 10 people.