Kabul, double terrorist attack on hospital and funeral: dozens of dead

A terrorist commando hit a facility run by MSF, killing two children and 12 mothers and nurses. President Ghani accuses the Taliban, who deny all involvement. The attack on the funeral of a police commander in the eastern province of Nangarhar claimed by ISIS, 24 people died and 68 others injured.


Kabul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A double terrorist attack in the last few hours returns to bloody Afghanistan, confirming that the "peace agreement" signed in Doha last February between the United States and the Taliban is not enough to put an end to decades of war and violence.

In the raid launched by a group of armed men in an obstetric hospital managed by Doctors without Borders (MSF) in Kabul, two children and at least 12 mothers and nurses were killed. In a second episode, in the eastern province of Nangarhar, the explosion of a bomb at a funeral killed at least 26 people.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attacks and ordered the resumption of the offensive against the Taliban and other terrorist groups. He accuses the militiamen of having repeatedly ignored calls for calm and containment of violence.

The Taliban have denied any involvement in the attacks. The Islamic State instead claimed the attack on the funeral of a police commander in Nangarhar; at the moment there are no traces of the possible perpetrators of the assault on the Dasht-e-Barchi hospital.

The attack on the hospital began at 10 am local time yesterday morning: some sources speak of a double explosion, while inside there were over 140 people, including foreigners. Ramazan Ali, a vendor who is stationed in the area, reports that "the assailants were shooting at anyone, without making any distinction ... it is a government hospital, many bring their women and children to be treated".

Near the hospital there is also a structure that houses international staff and foreign workers. A doctor says he heard an explosion in the area too.

In the past, several similar attacks have occurred in the capital, which mainly concerned the Shiite sector of Kabul. Behind the violence there are the militants of the Islamic State (IS, ex Isis).

At the time of the explosion at the funeral of the senior officer in the province of Nangarhar, thousands of people were present. The bomb exploded as the convoy passed, killing 26 people and injuring 68 others.

Activists, NGOs and world political leaders have condemned the latest violence, which risks derailing a fragile path of peace in a context marked by divisions and opposing interests.

In the fight against terrorism, there are reports of the arrest - but official confirmations are awaited - of Zia ul-Haq, better known by the name of Sheikh Omar Khorasani, considered the leader of ISIS in South Asia and the Far East. The spokesman Isis Saheeb and the local head of jihadist intelligence Abu Ali were also arrested.