Militants Dressed as Doctors Attack a Kandahar Hospital The hourlong firefight was the latest incident in a hospital in Afghanistan, one of the most dangerous countries for aid workers. By Ehsanullah Amiri and Jessica Donati see note please
http://www.wsj.com/articles/militants-dressed-as-doctors-attack-a-kandahar-hospital-1473699923
“Militants????” what happened to the word “terrorists” ?????? RSK
Two militants dressed as doctors raided a hospital in Kandahar supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday, killing at least one emergency room patient in an hourlong firefight, Afghan officials said.
The men, armed with pistols and suicide vests, wounded two other people before being shot dead by Afghan security forces, the officials said. The firefight took place in wards among patients, they said.
The first militant was quickly shot by an intelligence agent, while the second escaped further into the hospital before being killed by security forces about an hour later, said a spokesman for the Kandahar governor. Angry families outside protested to be allowed into the compound to rescue trapped relatives as the gunfire rang out across Afghanistan’s second largest city.
An Afghan intelligence officer and a policeman were also killed in the attack, a foreign official in the country said. Afghan authorities didn’t confirm their deaths.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
The ICRC employs some 50 Afghan and international staffers at the Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar. No ICRC staff members were present during Monday’s raid due to this week’s Muslim religious holiday Eid al-Adha, said ICRC spokeswoman Jessica Barry.
The attack was the latest in a string of incidents that have struck aid workers in Afghanistan, despite repeated pleas by humanitarian agencies to respect their neutrality.
Hospitals in Afghanistan have repeatedly been attacked or caught in the crossfire in recent years, making the country one of the most dangerous places for aid workers to operate. CONTINUE AT SITE
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