Metro
Senior Taliban commander killed in hospital attack
A Taliban military commander was killed when his men responded to an Islamic State suicide bomb and gun attack on a hospital in the Afghan capital, officials said Wednesday.
The Taliban spent 20 years waging an insurgency against the ousted US-backed government before seizing control of Kabul in August.
Now they face the struggle of bringing stability to Afghanistan, which has been hit in recent weeks by a series of bloody assaults claimed by rivals, the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K).
At least 19 people were killed in Tuesday’s attack on Kabul’s main military hospital, according to a health ministry official who did not want to be named.
Hamdullah Mokhlis, a member of the hardline Haqqani network and an officer in the Badri Corps special forces, is the most senior figure to have been killed since the Taliban seized Kabul.
“When he got the information that Sardar Daud Khan Hospital was under attack, Maulvi Hamdullah (Mokhlis), the commander of the Kabul corps, immediately rushed to the scene,” the Taliban media official said.
“We tried to stop him but he laughed. Later we found out that he was martyred in the face-to-face fight at the hospital,” he added.
The attack began with a suicide bomber detonating his explosives near the facility’s entrance before gunmen broke into the hospital grounds.
As part of the response, Kabul’s new rulers deployed their special forces to the roof of the building in a helicopter captured from Afghanistan’s former US-backed government.
In a statement released on its Telegram channels, IS-K said that “five Islamic State group fighters carried out simultaneous coordinated attacks” on the site.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid played down the death toll and said the attack was put down within 15 minutes thanks to the rapid intervention.
‘Our Lives Were Ending’
File photo: Taliban fighters atop vehicles with Taliban flags parade along a road to celebrate after the US pulled all its troops out of Afghanistan, in Kandahar on September 1, 2021, following the Talibans military takeover of the country. (Photo by JAVED TANVEER / AFP)
Although both IS and the Taliban are hardline Sunni Islamist militants, they differ on details of religion and strategy.
IS have claimed four mass casualty attacks since the Taliban takeover on August 15, including suicide bomb blasts targeting Shiite Muslim mosques. The group regards Shiite Muslims as heretics.
The hospital, which treats wounded soldiers from both the Taliban and former Afghan security forces, was previously attacked in 2017, when gunmen disguised as medical personnel killed at least 30 people in an hours-long siege.
The 2017 attack was also claimed by the Islamic State group, and the Taliban denied responsibility.
Witnesses on Tuesday described to AFP a scene of terror, as patients and doctors tried to lock themselves in upper-storey rooms and gunfire erupted.
One woman who had been trapped in the hospital when the attack began told AFP how she and her friend “felt we were going to die, that our lives were ending”.
“There was a blast at the door,” Rowana Dawari, a poet and lecturer, told AFP.
“Daesh came and started firing, we were stuck. We heard firing, glass breaking. We locked ourselves in a bathroom,” she said, referring to IS by its local name.
“Later, Taliban came and we saw they were with our doctors, so we knew it was OK.”
The Federal Government on Wednesday disclosed that no fewer than 226 Local Government Areas across 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory fall within high flood-risk zones in 2026.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, made this known during the public presentation of the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency held at the State Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Utsev said a total of 14,118 communities in 266 LGAs across the affected states and the FCT had been identified as highly vulnerable to flooding.
He listed the states as Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara, and the FCT.
The minister added that 405 LGAs in 35 states fall within the moderate flood-risk category, with Ekiti State as the only state not captured under this classification.
He further noted that 923 communities in 77 LGAs across 24 states would experience minimal flooding.
“Low flood risk incidences are expected in Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Sokoto, Taraba, and Zamfara,” Utsev said.
The minister also disclosed that the 2026 Annual Flood Outlook introduced a community-based flood forecasting system designed to provide location-specific predictions for faster response and intervention.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to strengthening emergency response systems and promoting sustainable development nationwide.
Represented by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Lawal, the President said the government had reviewed existing challenges and acknowledged the critical role of rescue teams in mitigating disasters.
He noted that efforts were ongoing to enhance the capacity and coordination of relevant ministries for more effective and timely emergency responses.
Tinubu stressed that improved communication, strategic planning, and collaboration remained vital to addressing emerging challenges and ensuring better service delivery.
The President added that with strengthened systems in place, the government was confident of mitigating risks and improving outcomes for citizens.
The event, themed ‘Smart Water Resources Management: Moving From Oil To A Water-Based Economy’, was attended by ministers and key stakeholders in the water and environmental sectors.
Police authorities in Ondo State have confirmed a robbery attack at the Basic Health Centre in the Oke-Ijebu area of Akure, the state capital, in the early hours of Saturday.
It was gathered that three suspects armed with pump-action rifles and cutlasses invaded the facility after arriving in a black Toyota Venza, which they parked along the main road. The assailants reportedly scaled the perimeter fence to gain access to the premises.
During the attack, three health workers on duty were forcefully dispossessed of their personal belongings, including mobile phones and a Point of Sale terminal. The suspects subsequently whisked the victims away towards the Olokuta Correctional Centre axis along Ondo Road.
The spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, confirmed the incident in a statement issued on Saturday.
According to him, “Preliminary investigation reveals that the suspects ordered them to remove their clothing and subsequently abandoned them in the bush before fleeing the scene. The victims, however, found resort from nearby staff of the Correctional Service.”
Jimoh disclosed that security patrols had been intensified, while collaboration with other security agencies and local vigilante groups had been strengthened to enhance safety across the state.
He urged residents to remain calm, vigilant and law-abiding, adding that members of the public should promptly report suspicious activities or useful information to the nearest police station or other security agencies.
The police spokesman assured residents that the command remained committed to safeguarding lives and property and would not relent in efforts to rid the state of criminal elements.
Suspected kidnappers on Wednesday night shot a tomato farmer, Daniel Adesida, and abducted his wife during an attack on their residence along Oda Road in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The incident reportedly occurred around 8:45 p.m., when the gunmen invaded the residence and attempted to whisk away the farmer’s wife.
Sources said Adesida sustained a gunshot injury to his right hand while trying to resist the attackers, who eventually escaped with his wife.
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ondo State Command, Abayomi Jimoh, said police operatives swiftly responded after receiving a distress call.
According to him, officers mobilised to the scene, rescued the injured victim and ensured he received medical attention.
“Upon receiving the distress call, police operatives swiftly mobilised to the scene, ensured the injured victim was rescued and taken to the police clinic for medical attention, and secured the area,” Jimoh said.
He added that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Adebowale Lawal, had ordered an immediate manhunt for the fleeing suspects.
“The Commissioner of Police has ordered intensified patrols, bush combing operations and intelligence gathering within the affected area and adjoining communities with a view to apprehending the fleeing suspects,” he stated.
Jimoh assured residents that efforts were ongoing to rescue the abducted woman and bring the perpetrators to justice.
He also urged members of the public to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious movements or individuals to the nearest police station.
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