Afghan Officials Say at Least 50 Died in Attack on Hospital<br />The news conference was called after Afghan news reports and social media accounts suggested<br />that the casualty toll was actually in the hundreds; that three hospitalized Afghan generals were among those killed by the attackers; and that the minister of defense, Abdullah Habibi, had personally signed the V.I.P.<br />By ROD NORDLAND and JAWAD SUKHANYARMARCH 15, 2017<br />KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan officials sharply increased the tally of dead in an attack last week on a military hospital, saying Wednesday<br />that at least 50 people, including patients and staff members, were killed.<br />The reports seemed to be fueled partly by contradictory government claims immediately after the attack<br />that only two people had died, a number many officials stuck to even after personnel at the Ministry of Defense confirmed that at least 31 people were dead.<br />In addition, 24 people have been arrested in connection with the March 8 attack, including Afghan generals, according<br />to Lt. Gen. Helaludin Helal, the country’s deputy minister of defense for strategic and intelligence affairs.<br />He confirmed that the attackers brought their vehicle, a red Toyota Corolla, into the hospital compound in Kabul using an official pass, which he described as "fake." One of the five attackers<br />detonated their explosives-laden car with a remote-controlled device as they entered the hospital grounds dressed in white medical clothing, according to the official accounts.<br />Government officials, however, have blamed the Taliban, and General Helal said "we cannot deny"<br />that one of the attackers shouted, "Long live the Taliban." The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, has a relatively small number of fighters in Afghanistan, mostly in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
