Afghanistan | Experts probe site of deadly Kabul hospital attack

Amir Shah, Kabul

Hundreds of mourners gathered yesterday at a graveyard on the northern edge of Kabul to bury a 37-year-old pharmacist — one of 31 people killed in an attack on a hospital in the Afghan capital the previous day that was claimed by the Islamic State group.

The brazen daytime assault saw four gunmen in white lab coats storm the military hospital in a highly secure part of the city Wednesday, setting off an hours-long gunbattle with security forces. Initially, the death toll was reported to be 30 but one of the wounded died overnight.

Behroz Behnam, who left behind three small children, was gunned down on the third floor of the hospital, said his brother, Behzad, also an officer in the Afghan army.

Behzad, who had been deployed with the military outside the hospital during the attack, said the gunmen went floor by floor in a killing rampage. When they came to Behnam, they opened fire at him and two other officers, said Behzad.

When he made it inside the hospital, Behzad found his brother dying from gunshot wounds to the chest and arm.

Villagers stand at the grave of Behroz Behnam, a victim of the deadly suicide attack and shooting at a military hospital, in Kabul

“When I finally got to him, it was just moments before he died,” Behzad said. “All that was left for me to do was to tell my family and bring his body home.”

All the attackers, including two who detonated their suicide vests, were killed by the time the assault ended.

Standing beside Behnam’s graveside covered with flowers, his father, Afghan army Gen. Jalandar Shah made an impassioned plea to the international community to help war-battered Afghanistan put an end to the fighting.

“As a father, as a human being I am calling out to the international community to please pay attention,” he said. “Stop the killing of Afghans. It is enough all this killing. It’s enough.”

Inside the hospital, experts were scouring every inch of the facility for evidence that IS was behind the attack, which also wounded 53 people, said deputy defense ministry spokesman Mohammed Radmanish.

Radmanish told The Associated Press that even though IS claimed the assault, Afghan authorities “must do our own investigations to know who is responsible.”

Afghan forces have been under increasing pressure by the Taliban and also from Islamic State militants, mostly in the country’s east.

The attack reflected the Afghan militants’ capability to strike at the country’s heavily guarded capital despite government efforts to improve security for ordinary Afghans.

The U.N. Security Council condemned “the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack” in the strongest terms and underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors to justice.

Council members reiterated that “any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.” They urged all countries “to combat by all means […] threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.”

The assault lasted for several hours, with Afghan helicopters circling over the hospital building, troops rappelling onto rooftops and security forces going floor-by-floor in a gunbattle with the attackers. By mid-afternoon, the attack was over and a clean-up operation was underway.

Abdul Qadir, a hospital worker who witnessed the attack, said an attacker in a white coat shot at him and his colleagues. Ghulam Azrat, another survivor, said he escaped through a fourth floor window after attackers killed two of his friends.

IS claimed the attack in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency.

An affiliate of the extremist group has carried out a number of attacks in Afghanistan in the last two years, and has clashed with the more powerful and well-established Taliban, who carried out another complex attack in Kabul last week.

Mohammad Nahim, a restaurant worker in Kabul, said he worries that IS militants are getting stronger. “Daesh has no mercy on the humanity,” he added, using an Arabic name for the group.

Afghan security forces have struggled to combat both groups since the U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to an advisory and counterterrorism role.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack during an address in honor of International Women’s Day, calling it “an attack on all Afghan people and all Afghan women.”

The foreign ministry in neighboring Pakistan condemned the Kabul attack, describing it as a “heinous terrorist attack” and expressing Islamabad’s condolences to the victims.

The acting U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan, Adele Khodr, warned in a statement that hospitals, medical staff and patients “must never be placed at risk, and under no circumstances be subject to attack” and urged all parties in the conflict to abide by and “respect all medical workers, clinics and hospitals in compliance with international law.”

She said that in 2016, at least 41 attacks on health care facilities and workers were recorded across Afghanistan — “an appalling catalogue of attacks that ultimately further hinders delivery of essential and life-saving health care to all Afghans across the country.” MDT/AP