‘Total panic’: newborn babies among at least 16 killed after gunmen attack Afghanistan hospital

The hospital is in a location that is home to Kabul’s minority Shiite Hazara community – a frequent target of Sunni militants from the Islamic State group

The attack occurred on the same day a suicide blast elsewhere killed over a dozen people at a funeral, as a rising wave of violence takes hold in Afghanistan

Reading Time:3 minutes

A soldier carries out a newborn baby from a hospital attacked in Kabul on May 12, 2020. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Published: 7:41pm, 12 May 2020Updated: 4:31pm, 13 May 2020

Gunmen disguised as policemen on Tuesday attacked a hospital in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, killing at least 16 people including two newborn babies, officials said.

The violence happened the same day a suicide bomb separately went off at a funeral in the east of the country, killing at least two dozen people and injuring 68.

Special forces rescued some 100 people from the Dasht-e-Barchi hospital, including mothers and infants, after three gunmen launched a morning assault, throwing grenades and shooting, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Afghan women sit in an ambulance after being rescued by security forces May 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Heavily armed forces were seen carrying babies wrapped in blankets away from the scene, as the clearance operation continued. The security forces had killed the attackers by the afternoon.

The 100-bed government hospital is located in the west of the city, home to the capital’s minority Shiite Hazara community – a frequent target of Sunni militants from the Islamic State group.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x