Two Explosions Rock Afghanistan's Kabul Military Hospital: 19 Killed 50 Injured

JAKARTA - At least 19 people were killed and 50 injured when two explosions followed by gunfire hit Afghanistan's largest military hospital in Kabul, a Taliban security official said Tuesday.

The explosion occurred at the entrance to the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan National Military Hospital in central Kabul. Security forces have been dispatched to the area, said Interior Ministry spokesman, Qari Saeed Khosti.

"One explosion has occurred at the gate of the military hospital and the second is somewhere near the hospital, this is our initial information, we will provide more details later," Taliban government deputy spokesman Bilal Karimi told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), citing Daily Sabah November 2.

"Nineteen bodies and about 50 injured people have been taken to a hospital in Kabul," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Photos shared by residents showed plumes of smoke above the blast area near the former diplomatic zone in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of the city. Witnesses said at least two helicopters flew over the area. No immediate claim of responsibility. But the official Bakhtar news agency quoted witnesses as saying several ISIS fighters entered the hospital and clashed with security forces.

The blast added to a growing list of attacks and killings since the Taliban completed their victory over the previous Western-backed government in August, undermining the restoration of security in Afghanistan after decades of war.

A health worker at the hospital, who managed to escape, said he heard a huge explosion followed by several minutes of gunfire. About 10 minutes later, there was a second, larger explosion, he said.

He said it was unclear if the explosion and gunfire took place inside the sprawling hospital compound.

ISIS, which has carried out a series of attacks on mosques and other targets since the Taliban's capture of Kabul in August, launched a complex attack on hospitals in 2017, killing more than 30 people. The group's attacks have raised concerns outside Afghanistan about the country's potential to become a haven for militant groups, such as when al-Qaida attacked the United States in 2001.

Concerns have been exacerbated by an economic crisis that threatens millions of people with poverty as winter approaches. The hasty withdrawal of international support following the Taliban victory has brought Afghanistan's fragile economy to the brink of collapse, just as a severe drought has threatened millions with starvation.