Disguised in military uniform, a group of four gunmen attacked a maternity hospital in Afghanistan’s Kabul on Tuesday, killing at least 16 people, including two newborn babies.

The attackers were pinned down after a five-hour long encounter with security forces.

The horrifying attack began with explosions and gunfire close to the hospital in the Dasht-e-Barchi locality in western Kabul, after which the security forces evacuated nearly 40 people. The hospital is run by the international humanitarian organisation, Doctors Without Borders.

An unidentified paediatrician who escaped the hospital said that he heard an explosion at the entrance of the building. ‘The hospital was full of patients and doctors, there was total panic inside,’ he said.

Images from the attack showed security forces saving a newborn baby, wrapped in a blood-stained blanket. Another image showed a woman who died on spot, still holding onto her baby.

Interior ministry spokesperson Tariq Arian Called the attack an ‘act against humanity and a war crime’.

Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani condemned the deadly attack and ordered the military to adopt an ‘offensive’ mode rather than the defensive one.

India Condemns Attack In Kabul

India condemned the attacks in Kabul, calling them a ‘barbaric’ act against innocent people.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that the ‘reprehensible’ attacks on mothers, newborns, nurses and families are appalling and constitute crimes against humanity.

‘They should be forced to eradicate safe havens and sanctuaries that have abetted terrorism in the region for decades and caused immense miseries to untold number of people in the region,’ it said. ‘We extend our sincerest condolences to the families of the deceased and wish speedy recovery to those injured.’

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also called the attack a’sheer evil’ and an ‘unconscionable assault’. As long as there is no sustained reduction in violence and insufficient progress towards a negotiated political settlement, Afghanistan will remain vulnerable to terrorism,’ he said.

I condemn in the strongest terms the two horrific terrorist attacks in Afghanistan today. The Afghan people deserve a future free from these egregious acts of evil and must come together to build a united front against the menace of terrorism.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 12, 2020

In another incident in the eastern Nangarhar province, 24 people died in a bombing at a funeral of a police personnel, who had succumbed to a heart attack, on Monday night. Atleast 68 people were injured in the attack. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the funeral attack.

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