(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Two gunmen entered a hospital in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Monday, setting off a gunbattle with security forces before both were killed, officials said.
Samim Khpalwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor of Kandahar, said the apparent target for the attack was the deputy governor who was intending to visit the hospital, a large regional facility that provides health services to war victims, including members of the army and police.
One member of the security forces was killed along with the two attackers in the exchange of fire.
No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly assault, but such incidents are mostly blamed on Taliban militants who frequently target official buildings and security forces in the war-ravaged country.
Afghanistan has been gripped by insecurity since the US and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror in 2001. Many parts of the country still remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.
Taliban militants have regrouped since the death of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour earlier in the year and are reported to be currently in control of some areas in Afghanistan.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) says it recorded 1,601 civilian deaths and 3,565 injuries in Afghanistan in the first six months of 2016.
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source : Reuters
Tuesday
13 September 2016
11:46:51 AM
778748
Gunmen attack hospital in southern Afghanistan, one security force killed
Two gunmen entered a hospital in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Monday, setting off a gunbattle with security forces before both were killed, officials said.