Dozens Shia killed during Daesh attacks in Afghanistan

By SJA Jafri + Agencies + Bureau Report

KABUL/ ISLAMABAD: Afghan forces have evacuated dozens and ended the siege at a maternity hospital in Kabul, killing the three gunmen behind the deadly attack on the government-run hospital in the capital, the interior ministry spokesman said.

At least 24 Shia Muslims were killed in the morning assault on the Barchi Hospital, officials said on Tuesday.

Security forces had earlier cordoned off the area as they evacuated more than 80 women and babies from the hospital, where medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) runs a maternity clinic.

At least three attackers wearing police uniforms entered the hospital located in the Dashti Barchi neighbourhood of Kabul, throwing grenades and shooting, government officials said.

A paediatrician who fled the hospital told media he heard a loud explosion at the entrance of the building in Dashti Barchi, a mostly Shia neighbourhood that has seen past attacks by the Daesh (ISIL/ ISIS) armed group.

“The hospital was full of patients and doctors; there was total panic inside,” he told AFP, asking not to be named.

The 100-bed government-run facility is supported by MSF, said Wahidullah Mayar, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

There have been a number of deadly attacks in the capital in recent months, claimed by the ISIL group.

On Monday, security forces said they had arrested three senior ISIL members including a regional leader.

Last week, security forces killed and arrested several members of an ISIL cell that authorities said was responsible for several high-profile attacks in Kabul including one on a Sikh temple in March.

Roadside blasts in the capital on Monday, which wounded four civilians, were claimed by the group.

Afghanistan is also dealing with violence by the Taliban around the country even as the United States tries to usher in peace talks after signing a troop withdrawal agreement in February with the armed group.