49 Killed Scores Injured in Attack on Kabul Military Hospital – ISIS Claims Unconfirmed

March 10th, 2017

Awake Goy

nsnbc : At least 49 were killed and another 63 or more were wounded in an attack on a military hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul. Initial reports suggested the attack was carried our by the self-proclaimed Islamic State, but Afghani intelligence stressed that claims need to be thoroughly investigated.

Afghan law enforcement, security and intelligence services are assessing claims made by loyalists of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (a.k.a. ISIS, ISIL, IS or Daesh) as one of the preliminary leads in the investigation into the attack.

However, Afghan intelligence sources warn against “jumping to conclusions” as the conflict in Afghanistan is complex, multifaceted, and involving several State and non-state actors.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) spokesman Sediq Sediqi informed regarding the progress a day after the main military hospital was hit by one of the deadliest coordinated attacks for which ISIS loyalists claimed responsibility. “We are assessing Daesh’s claims about the attack, but at this stage we can’t make a prejudgment prior to conclusion of investigation.”

He added on Twitter that “Brutal terrorist groups like ISIS, Taliban, Haqqani & many other regional terrorist networks with safe heavens n Pakistan which have been behind many horrific attacks in the past are unfortunately operates in Afg and have been behind the recent attacks n Kabul&other parts.. … We will heavily depend on our investigation to determine the group. Our intelligence have found some leads regarding yesterday’s attack.”

Ministry of Defense (MoD) officials said Thursday that the attack on Sardar Moammad Daud Khan hospital left over 30 people dead. The death toll has since then risen to at least 49 while at least another 63 were wounded. Sediqi also said that that the attack which was launched earlier on Wednesday morning continued for several hours before the militants were shot dead at around 3:00 pm local time.

Gunmen went through the 400-bed hospital, shooting doctors, patients and visitors and battling security forces for several hours in a sophisticated operation. Survivors reported they were barricading themselves in hospital rooms to escape the gunmen. The assailants were armed with automatic weapons and hand grenades. Mohammad Nabi, one of the doctors at the hospital who escaped with a broken leg said it had been difficult to comprehend what was going on initially as the gunmen in doctors’ white coats took out concealed weapons and began shooting. “We were shocked when we saw AK47s in their hands firing,” he said. “They killed our patients in their beds and they killed our doctors.”

The U.N. Security Council issued a statement condemning the attack and urging all states to cooperate with the Afghan government to bring those responsible to justice and to prevent and suppress the financing of terrorism. Assessing the situation and claims about responsibility is among others complicated because of the intricate relationship between the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and ISIS, and/or other factions, including factions within the Afghan government, who would like to see the attack blamed on insurgents from Pakistan rather than insurgents from Afghanistan.

CH/L – nsnbc 09.03.2017

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