Kabul: Fourteen people, including two infants, were killed at a maternity hospital in western part of Kabul, which was attacked by gunmen on Tuesday, the Interior Affairs Ministry of Afghanistan said.
Security forces shut down the attack after five hours, with the killing of four attackers who an eyewitness said were wearing Afghan military uniforms, Tolo News cited.
According to the Interior Affairs Ministry 72 civilians, including children, were rescued in the attack.
Timor Sharan, Deputy Minister for Policy & Program, Independent Directorate of Local Governance, in a tweet said: "#Taliban #Haqqani #Daesh regardless of who carried out this attack and for what purpose. The sheer level of brutality is unimaginable - targeting a maternity hospital filled with newborn babies, pregnant mothers and anxious families."
According to Tolo News report, Taliban denied any involvement in the attack on the 100-bed government-run hospital in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of PD13 in western Kabul, which has sparked strong condemnation from the international community.
Meanwhile on Tuesday morning, in Nangarhar, in the east of Afghanistan, a funeral ceremony was hit by an explosion in which 24 people were killed and more than a dozen wounded, according to sources.
Citing eye-witnesses, Tolo News reported that explosion happened in a crowd of people who were gathered for the funeral of Shaikh Akram, a former commander of public uprising forces in Shewa.
The attacks also claimed the life of Abdullah Malikzai, a member of Nangarhar's provincial council.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani ordered Afghan forces to switch to "offensive" mode, and to resume attacks on the Taliban, in the wake of recent attacks in the country.
Earlier this year, in February end, US and Taliban had signed a peace deal in Doha after months of negotiations, aimed at ending the 18-year long war in Afghanistan.
In March, at least 27 civilians were killed and eight others were wounded in a terror attack on a Gurudwara in Kabul, Afghanistan.
