Six attackers set off an explosion at the entrance to a military hospital in the Afghan capital and tried to enter the facility but were eventually pushed back by Taliban guards, an official with the Taliban-run defence ministry said.
At least three people were killed and 16 people were wounded in the attack on the Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan hospital in Kabul’s 10th district, health officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, one of the most brazen yet in the capital since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in a swift military campaign in August. Previous attacks were claimed by so-called Islamic State (IS) militants, an enemy of the Taliban.
Hibatullah Jamal, the Taliban official from the defence ministry, said two of the six attackers had been captured. He did not say how many people were killed or wounded.
“There are casualties among both our personnel and civilians but immediately the toll is not clear,” he said.
He added that Taliban fighters were among those killed, but that most of the casualties were civilians. The Taliban had regained control of the hospital, he added.
City residents had reported two explosions in the area, along with the sound of gunfire.
Sayed Abdullah Ahmadi, director of the nearby Wazir Akbar Khan hospital, said his facility had received three bodies and seven people who had been wounded in the blast.
A further nine people who were injured were taken to the Afghanistan Emergency Hospital.
In recent weeks, IS has carried out a series of bombings and shootings. The group has stepped up attacks since the Taliban takeover of the country.
