Wednesday, November 03, 2021
IS is committed
Taliban commander dies in hospital attack
After the bloody attack on a military hospital in Kabul, the Islamic State confesses to the attack. A senior Taliban fighter is among the victims. He was the leader of a notorious special unit.
A senior Taliban commander was also killed in an attack on a military hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday. Hamdullah Mochlis was killed in a gun battle with the attackers, said a Taliban spokesman. Mochlis had rushed to the hospital immediately after the first reports of the attack.
Mochlis was a member of the infamous Hakkani network and a leader of the Taliban special unit Badri 313 in Kabul. He is the highest-ranking representative of the Taliban who has been killed since the radical Islamic militia came to power in Afghanistan in August. Most recently he was responsible for the security of Kabul.
According to the Taliban Ministry of Health, at least 19 people were killed and dozens more injured in the attack. A Taliban representative said the attack was launched by a suicide bomber. He was on a motorcycle and blew himself up at the entrance to the hospital. Several other attackers then stormed the clinic.
“Coordinated Attacks”
The Afghan branch of the jihadist militia Islamic State, IS-K, claimed responsibility for the attack. She said in the online service Telegram that “five IS fighters had carried out coordinated attacks” on the hospital at the same time.
According to the Taliban, there was one explosion at the entrance to the hospital and another near it. Taliban special forces were then dispatched to the hospital and engaged in battles. Injured fighters from both the Taliban and former Afghan security forces are treated in the clinic.
Since the Taliban came to power, Afghanistan has been hit by a series of attacks. The IS-K, which rivaled the new rulers, had also confessed to earlier attacks. The Taliban, who have not yet been recognized as new rulers from abroad, face numerous challenges in their transition from an insurgent group to a government. These include above all the worsening humanitarian situation and a severe economic crisis.