JIHADISTS are believed to have been behind yesterday’s sickening gun attack on an Afghan hospital in which at least 13 people were killed, including two newborn babies.

At least three gunmen in police uniforms entered the Dasht-e-Barchi hospital in the capital Kabul, opening fire and throwing grenades, according to government officials.

Two newborn babies were killed at the maternity clinic run by the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders.

A paediatrician who fled the 100-bed hospital said he heard a loud explosion at the entrance of the building. “The hospital was full of patients and doctors, there was total panic inside,” he said.

Staff and patients were eventually evacuated and security forces killed the assailants in a gun battle.

Interior and health ministry officials said that mothers, nurses and children were among the dead and wounded.

The hospital is located in an area which is home to the persecuted Hazara community, an ethnic group that has faced centuries of genocidal attacks and has recently been targeted by Isis.