Gen. Helaludin Helal, deputy defense minister speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, March 15, 2017. Helal said the official death toll from last week's militant assault on a Kabul military hospital has risen to 50. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul) (The Associated Press)
KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says the official death toll from last week's militant assault on a Kabul military hospital has risen to 50.
Officials originally set the death toll at 30 for the March 8 attack. But Gen. Helaludin Helal, the deputy defense minister and head of the team investigating the attack and its aftermath, released the new number in a press conference Wednesday.
The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group. Helal said there were five attackers in total: one suicide bomber who detonated an explosive belt and four gunmen who stormed the building.
Helal said 24 people have been arrested and are under investigation — either for involvement in planning the attack or dereliction of duty in failing to prevent it.
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