Senior Taliban Commander Among Killed in Hospital Terror Attack in Kabul
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In a suicide attack that has killed 23 and injured at least 50, one of the most senior officials of the Taliban, Hamdullah Mokhlis, was killed.
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A boy injured in the IS-K attack on the Daud Khan military hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday (Reuters)
Among the 23 who were killed in the hospital attack, which IS-K (Islamic State - Khorasan) claimed responsibility for, the most senior official of the Taliban has been among those killed since the group took over the capital, Kabul.
It was reported that Hamdullah Mokhlis, a member of the Haqqani network and an officer in the Badri Corps special forces, rushed to the scene after acquiring knowledge of the suicide attack, which occurred near the entrance of Mohammad Daud Khan military hospital.
"When he got the information that Sardar Daud Khan Hospital was under attack, Maulvi Hamdullah (Mokhlis), the commander of the Kabul corps, immediately rushed to the scene," the Taliban media official said. He continued, "We tried to stop him but he laughed. Later we found out that he was martyred in the face-to-face fight at the hospital."
After the bombs detonated near the entrance, gunmen entered the premises and attacked people. In response to the terrorist attack, in a helicopter captured from the US-backed government which the Taliban ousted, special troops were deployed onto the roof of the hospital. According to Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, the special forces stopped the attackers and killed the gunmen at the entrance or in the hospital's courtyard within 15 minutes.
According to BBC, Bilal Karimi, a Taliban spokesperson, revealed that Taliban fighters killed four IS-K terrorists and captured one alive.
A health ministry official confirmed that 23 people were killed and at least 50 wounded in the attack on the Kabul hospital
This is not the first time the hospital has been attacked: In 2017, terrorists dressed as doctors stormed the building, killing 30 and wounding 50 - the attack was claimed by ISIS.
WSJ: Former US-backed Afghan army members join ISIS
Recently, the US-based newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, reported that "Some former members of US-trained intelligence service and elite military units—now abandoned by their American patrons and hunted by the Taliban—have enlisted in the only force currently challenging the country’s new rulers: Islamic State."
These members enlist in ISIS' rank to escape the revenge of the Taliban movement, according to the WSJ, because the Khorasan Organization, the local branch of ISIS, is the only alternative available now.
