At least 19 people were killed and 50 more were wounded in an attack on a military hospital in Kabul on Tuesday, AFP reports.
The Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) group claimed responsibility for the gun and bomb assault in the center of the capital, saying in a statement on its Telegram channels that "five Islamic State group fighters carried out simultaneous coordinated attacks" on the sprawling site.
"The ISIS insurgents wanted to target civilians, doctors and patients in the hospital," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said, claiming that Taliban forces had repulsed the attack within 15 minutes.
The attack occurred when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near the facility's entrance. Gunmen then broke into the hospital grounds, firing their weapons.
"19 dead bodies and about 50 wounded people have been taken to hospitals in Kabul," a health ministry official who asked not to be named told AFP.
Mujahid played down the death toll, but confirmed that two Taliban fighters, two women and a child had been killed outside the hospital.
ISIS has claimed several terrorist attacks which have taken place in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over the country after the US withdrawal.
In early October, ISIS claimed responsibility for an explosion in a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan’s northeastern Kunduz province, which left 46 people dead and wounded more than 140 others.
Previously, ISIS-K had also claimed the recent suicide bombing at Kabul airport, in which 13 US troops were killed. That attack took place shortly after US troops withdrew from Afghanistan.