This archive report was first published on 12 May 2020.
Published on May 12, 2020, a deadly day in Afghanistan began with gunmen storming a maternity clinic in Kabul, targeting a 100-bed hospital in the city's west, a largely Shiite area.
The hospital, known for its large maternity ward, was under attack for about five hours, with special forces seen rescuing newborn babies during the fighting.
According to the Interior Ministry, the three assailants were killed, and about 100 people were rescued. However, local elders suggested the fatalities could be higher, with the country's health ministry reporting 15 mothers and their newborn babies killed, along with 16 others wounded.
As the attack unfolded, crowds gathered outside the hospital, with emotions running high as they saw babies soaked in blood being rescued. Relatives of a woman who had given birth at dawn were trying to get news, her brother wailing and twisting in pain.
A community elder, Abdul Hadi, revealed that 15 martyred mothers' bodies were being evacuated in ambulances, with their newborn babies being sent to other hospitals.
Separately, a suicide bomber targeted a funeral in Nangarhar Province, killing at least 25 people and wounding 68. The Taliban denied involvement in the Kabul hospital assault.
The attacks come as the coronavirus spreads rapidly across Afghanistan, threatening to overwhelm the country's medical facilities. With nearly 5,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases, officials warn that the true numbers are certain to be much higher.
