Blasts and clashes at military hospital in Kabul kill 20 people

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Asia

Blasts and clashes at military hospital in Kabul kill 20 people

By Susannah George and Ellen Francis
Today at 8:37 a.m. EDT|Updated today at 3:50 p.m. EDT

KABUL — Two suicide blasts and gunfire erupted Tuesday at the main military hospital in the Afghan capital, in an attack that killed at least 20 people and injured dozens more, according to witnesses, a doctor and a Taliban official.

Official Taliban statements put the death toll much lower. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said seven civilians and three of the group’s fighters were killed. Mujahid did not respond to questions about higher death tolls from eyewitness accounts.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but it comes amid increasing activity on the part of the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K), the Islamic State’s branch in Afghanistan. The attacks on civilians and fighters alike are challenging the Taliban’s ability to maintain security in the country following its takeover in August.

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Francis reported from London. Haq Nawaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report, which has been updated.

By Susannah George
Susannah George is The Washington Post's Afghanistan and Pakistan bureau chief. She previously headed the Associated Press’s Baghdad bureau and covered national security and intelligence from the AP’s Washington bureau. Twitter https://twitter.com/sgreports

By Ellen Francis
Ellen Francis is a reporter covering breaking news for The Washington Post in London. Twitter https://twitter.com/ellen_fra

[msongs]

1. taliban not too big on security in their own place nt