Kabul: The Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS-K) is reported to have taken responsibility for the explosions and gunfire at the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan military hospital here after Taliban squarely blamed the outfit for the the deadly attack. Unconfirmed reports suggested at least 25 died and 50 sustained injuries in the attack on November 2.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, had claimed the attack to be carried out by “several” members of the Islamic State, including a suicide bomber who was in a car full of explosives that exploded at the gate to the hospital. Mujahid further claimed that several Taliban fighters too were killed and wounded in the ensuing gun battle.
The hospital, one of the biggest in Kabul, is situated in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul City.
In New York, Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the United Nations Secretary‑General, said the attack was a reminder that health facilities and infrastructure are not a target, and that all civilians must be protected.
With half of Afghan population already facing acute hunger, Haq said his colleagues in Kabul had informed that humanitarian aid delivery and needs assessments continue countrywide.
The World Food Programme (WFP) too said that 170 trucks are delivering assistance across Afghanistan daily. This year, WFP has reached 11.5 million people with food assistance, including 4.7 million people in October alone.
For its part, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that a plane carrying winter relief from the Agency’s global stockpiles in Dubai landed today in Kabul. The UNHCR‑chartered plane took off from Sharjah carrying 33 tons of winterization kits for displaced Afghans.
This was the first of three UNHCR flights, with the next two scheduled to land in the Afghan capital on November 4 and 7, 2021. UNHCR warns that humanitarian needs are rising rapidly in Afghanistan ahead of winter, when temperatures can dip to -25°C.
Afghanistan’s Flash Appeal, seeking $606 million to help 11 million people through the end of 2021, is currently 50 per cent funded, Haq said.
– global bihari
