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Two bloody attacks shake Afghanistan: an assassin blew himself up at a funeral. The attackers broke into a maternity hospital in Kabul. Newborns are said to be among the dead.
By Silke Diettrich, ARD Studio Neu-Dehli
At least 40 people have died in two attacks in Afghanistan. The maternity ward of a hospital in Kabul was attacked. With helmets, uniforms, and rifles over their shoulders, the soldiers hastily pulled bundles of young children out of the station. The videos of him circulated on social networks. “It is beyond horror” or “The killing continues unabated,” said the Afghans.
The soldiers were unable to save two babies, they died in the attack, as did at least eleven mothers and nurses. An eyewitness told Reuters: “A man appeared in a police uniform. He shot security guards and even women who stood in front of the hospital.”
The attack lasted for hours.
The Afghan Interior Ministry also confirmed that the attackers were wearing police uniforms. They are said to have thrown grenades and then broke into the clinic with rifle shots. It took hours for Afghan security forces to overwhelm the attackers, a surviving doctor confirmed.
“When we heard the gunshots and the explosions, we found the armored security rooms. We sat there for more than four hours. The attackers shot at the door, but were unable to enter. This is how we went in to keep,” said the doctor. Hussain of the AP news agency.
Shiites increasingly aim for targets
The doctor belongs to the Hazara population, like most of the people in the district where the hospital is located. The Hazara are the third largest population group in Afghanistan, most of them are Shiites. The so-called Islamic State, of which the Sunnis are members, has carried out bloody attacks against the Hazara in Afghanistan many times.
The terrorist group appeared in eastern Afghanistan six years ago, and some 5,000 fighters are said to have settled there. Especially in the eastern province of Nangarhar, where the second great attack took place. The terrorist organization has claimed responsibility for this attack.
24 dead at the funeral
In Nangarhar, a suicide bomber blew himself up during a police commander’s funeral. More than 70 people were injured, 24 died. In front of the hospital in Jalalabad, the capital of the province, lines of men who transported or supported the wounded in bars were brought to take them to the doctors.
It was a very bloody day for the country, with many civilian victims, including newborns, mothers, nurses, and mourners. At the same time, the United States carried out an airstrike in the north, in which at least ten people died and many were injured.
