Afghanistan: Two explosions occur outside military hospital in Kabul; gunfire heard

Two explosions rocked Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul on Tuesday, 2 November that targeted civilians in front of a military hospital, said a Taliban spokesperson. Taliban’s deputy spokesperson Bilal Karimi confirmed to Tolo News that the blasts in Kabul targeted the civilians outside Sardar Mohammad Dawood Khan military hospital.

Sounds of two explosions were reportedly heard in the 10th district of Kabul and Karimi confirmed “two blasts” to Tolo News. Additionally, the area residents even said that they heard the sound of gunfire. 

Taliban-led government’s Ministry of Interior Affairs spokesperson Qari Saeed Khosty said that casualties are feared as the bomb blast took place next to the military hospital. The explosion took place at the gate of the 400-bed military hospital around noon and the security personnel immediately rushed to the site. Khosty also said that further details on the matter would be obtained following an investigation.  

Another Toronto-based Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary quoted a doctor and a witness to state that a suicide attacker detonated the explosives outside of Wazir Akbar Khan hospital close to the military hospital. He added that several attackers were fighting in the region and there can be a number of fatalities and injuries. 

The dual explosions in Kabul on Tuesday came in the backdrop of the Islamic State claiming responsibility for a series of attacks on mosques and other targets since the Taliban took over control of Afghanistan in August. 

One child killed after Taliban vehicle targeted by the blast

The Tuesday attack came after on 17 September killed a child and injured two others including a Taliban forces member in Nangarhar province. Karimi confirmed to Tolo News that the explosion hit a Taliban forces vehicle and added that the blast targeted the vehicle in PD5 of Jalalabad city which is the provincial capital of Nangarhar. This attack was followed by a blast on 16 September that left two people injured. Additionally, two explosions on Saturday targeted a Taliban vehicle in Nangarhar that wounded 20 people. 

(IMAGE: PTI/Representative)