Maulvi Hamdullah Mukhlis killed in Kabul attack

KABUL (Pajhwok): Maulvi Hamdullah Mukhlis, the Kabul military corps commander, was killed in Tuesday’s attack on the 400-bed hospital here, sources said on Wednesday.

At least 15 people were killed and 24 others injured in two back-to-back bomb blasts and gunfire in front of the hospital in Kabul yesterday.

At around 1:30pm, two explosions took place in front of the Sardar Daud Khan Military Hospital in Wazir Akbar Khan area.

Following the explosions, the attackers engaged in a shootout with security guards inside the hospital. Gunshots were heard after the blasts.

Some media outlets put the number of casualties at 49 but the government said only three women, one child and three security personnel were killed and five others wounded.

The government said the attackers were five in number and all of them were killed.

Meanwhile, some media reports say that Maulvi Hamdullah Mukhlis, commander of the Kabul military corps, was among the dead.

Deputy government spokesman Bilal Karimi said no official has so far confirmed the killing of Maulvi Hamdullah Mukhlis, but the “Emirati Media” group announced the funeral for Mukhlis.

The source wrote: “The great personality of the Islamic Emirate who conquered Kabul and a shining star of history has been martyred in the attack on the hospital.”

Mukhlis was laid to rest at a Taliban cemetery in the capital of southern Kandahar province at 11am.

sa/mud