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Taliban Say They Are Ready to Battle Afghan Forces

Agence France-Presse

   KABUL - The Taliban on Wednesday said they were prepared to battle
   Afghan forces after the president told troops to resume offensive
   operations following grisly attacks that have further unraveled a
   fragile peace process.

   New details have emerged on Tuesday's assault on a Kabul maternity
   hospital, where at least 24 people including infants, mothers and
   nurses were killed. The daylight attack was followed by a blast at a
   funeral in the country's east that killed 32 mourners.

   According to international humanitarian organization Medecins Sans
   Frontieres (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, which runs the maternity
   wing at the Barchi Hospital in west Kabul, one woman gave birth during
   the lengthy attack.

   "While pregnant women and babies were seeking health care in one of the
   most vulnerable states in life ... attackers stormed the maternity
   (unit) through a series of explosions and gunfire lasting for hours,"
   MSF said in a statement.

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