Suicide bomber, gunmen strike military hospital in Kabul, killing 2
Suicide bomber, gunmen strike military hospital in Kabul, killing 2:- A military hospital became the latest target in the Afghan capital Wednesday morning, when a suicide bomber detonated at the front gates and gunmen opened fire on armed troops stationed inside the heavily fortified medical compound, killing two.
Officials said at least four gunmen stormed the Sardar Dawood medical complex, located near the U.S. embassy and government buildings in the heart of the city. It was not clear if they followed the bomber or were already inside. One security official said the attackers were disguised in white doctors’ uniforms.
The Ministry of Public Health reported two were killed and 12 injured.
No group immediately claimed the mid-morning attack, but the double assault followed a familiar pattern by Taliban insurgents in which an official target is bombed at its entrance and armed fighters quickly follow.
On March 1, two such attacks at a police station and an intelligence police facility here left 23 people dead. At the police station, Taliban gunmen entered the building and fought with Afghan forces for hours before being killed.
The capital was clogged and chaotic Wednesday morning, with many streets already closed because of a public ceremony marking the third anniversary of the death of Afghanistan’s former army chief and anti-Soviet militia leader, Marshal Fahim Khan.
Emergency vehicles had difficulty reaching the hospital, but wailing ambulances could be heard all morning, while army and police helicopters criss-crossed the skies. The hospital has been a target of previous terror attacks.
One private TV news station said the sound of grenades exploding were heard from inside the hospital and that the attackers had managed to make their way to the third floor of one hospital building.
President Ashraf Ghani, who was speaking in his palace at a ceremony honoring International Women’s Day when the attack occurred, altered his speech to urge women to stand up to such attacks.
“All women must unanimously stand against such acts,” he said. “A hospital is a place that is considered immune in any law, any religion and sect. Attacking a hospital is an attack against the entire people of Afghanistan and against all the women of Afghanistan,” he said.
The new attack is an embarrassment for Ghani and security officials. It came just days after the president replaced Kabul’s longtime police chief for failing to curb terrorist actions as well as rising criminal activities in the capital.
The government’s chief executive officer, Abdullah Abdullah, addressed the ceremony for Fahim shortly after the attack. He called it a “crime against humanity” and added that “the only solution is to keep unity. Our enemies are only able to carry out their goals when there is political discord.”
Disagreements between Abdullah and Ghani have left the government divided and weakened.
sOURCE:- https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/suicide-bomber-gunmen-strike-military-hospital-in-kabul-killing-2/2017/03/08/de419912-03ca-11e7-b1e9-a05d3c21f7cf_story.html?utm_term=.553a9d82146f
