At least 25 killed, 50 wounded in Kabul hospital attack

Twin blasts and gunfire at the entrance of a military hospital in Afghanistan’s capital add to a growing list of attacks and killings since the Taliban takeover

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

2-MIN READ2-MIN

A man carrying a child flees the scene of bomb blasts targeting a military hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Published: 6:51pm, 2 Nov 2021Updated: 10:11pm, 2 Nov 2021

At least 25 people were killed and more than 50 wounded in an attack on Afghanistan’s biggest military hospital in Kabul on Tuesday, which saw two heavy blasts followed up by gunmen assaulting the site in central Kabul, officials said.

The explosions took place at the entrance of the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital in central Kabul and security forces had been sent to the area, Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi said.

Four of the attackers were killed by Taliban security forces and a fifth was captured, he said.

A boy injured by the blast at a hospital in Kabul on Tuesday is taken for treatment. Photo: Reuters

The blasts add to a growing list of attacks and killings since the Taliban completed their victory over the Western-backed government in August, undermining their claim to have restored security to Afghanistan after decades of war.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the operation was typical of the complex attacks mounted by Islamic State. It follows a string of bombings by the group which has emerged as the biggest threat to Taliban control of Afghanistan.