Security flaws enable terrorists to target military hospital

Afghans largely have slammed the government over what they described "security entities failure" to check terrorist activities and protect the life and properties of ordinary citizens in the wake of bloody attack on Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital in Kabul that claimed scores of lives on Wednesday.

"Believe me I have lost the hope for future. The terrorists even do not spare hospital, the patients or the doctors. The terrorists' indiscriminate attacks usually claim the lives of ordinary people," lamented a Kabul resident Ghulam Dastgir in talks with Xinhua.

Lashing at government over what he termed as "failure" to prevent terrorist attacks in Kabul and other parts of the war-battered country, the depressed man stressed, "It is the responsibility of the government to protect the life and properties of its citizens."

In the deadly terrorist attack against Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital, the main military hospital in Afghanistan, on Wednesday for which the hardliner Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility, according to Afghan Defense Ministry's statement, 30 people had been killed and more than 50 others injured.

However, unofficial reports have put the number of those killed in the attack as high as 50 and more than 90 others injured.

"No one knows what would happen tomorrow, today they attacked a hospital and killed countless people, tomorrow they may target a hotel, a restaurant or a supermarket to kill more Afghans," the annoyed Dastgir said angrily.

The attack on Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital, which located in the fortified Wazir Akbar Khan district next to U.S. embassy and many more diplomatic missions in broad daylight has raised many questions among Afghans whether the Afghan security apparatus are able to tear down terror networks.

However, deputy to defense ministry, Mohammad Radmanish has said that the case of attack on hospital requires more investigation to know how the terrorists could penetrate into the military hospital.

"Although the war in Afghanistan is a complicated proxy war, one thing is clear that the country's security apparatus and the counter-terrorism agencies are too weak to check terror operations," a political analyst Hadi Miran told local media on Friday.

Attack on military hospital in Kabul has withdrawn wide condemnation at home and abroad.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani termed it as a coward terrorist act and condemned it in its strongest terms.

"Merely condemning the terrorist attack is not the remedy to curb terrorism. Demolishing terrorism requires taking bold steps including publicly executing terrorists and their supporters," a former army officer Mohammad Malik told Xinhua.

Source: Xinhua