Two newborn babies are among the 16 dead after a Tuesday attack on a hospital in Afghanistan.
The same day, a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police commander’s funeral that was attended by a member of parliament and multiple government officials, killing 24, Reuters reports.
At around 10 A.M., according to CNN, three gunmen threw grenades and opened fire on nurses, mothers and newborns in the maternity ward of Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital, located in Afghanistan’s capital. The hospital is run by the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The perpetrators were killed by police by that afternoon.
Officials from the interior and health ministry confirmed that women, nurses and children had been killed and wounded in the attack. Three foreign nationals and over 100 civilians were evacuated from the hospital, according to officials.
MSF confirmed in a tweet that the hospital had been attacked, saying that “efforts are still on-going to evacuate patients and staff.” (RELATED: Afghans Tighten Security In Kabul After Attack)
The Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital in Kabul, where @MSF runs the maternity, was attacked. Explosions and gunfire were reported. Efforts are still on-going to evacuate patients and staff. More information will follow.
— MSF Afghanistan (@MSF_Afghanistan) May 12, 2020
Amnesty International, an organization dedicated to ending human rights abuses, condemned the attacks in a tweet, saying that “the unconscionable war crimes in Afghanistan today… must awaken the world to the horrors civilians continue to face.”
“There must be accountability for these grave crimes, and civilians must be protected,” they added.
The attacks are the latest in a series of violence carried out by Islamic State militants towards the Shia Hazara minority that populates the western Kabul area. Most recently, an Islamic State cell injured four in a roadside bombing Monday. Several members from the cell were arrested last week, CNN reported.