Afghan security personnel arrive at the site of an attack outside a hospital in Kabul on May 12, 2020. (PHOTO / STR / AFP)

KABUL/JALALABAD - Gunmen attacked a hospital in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday where the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders runs a maternity clinic, killing 16 people, including two newborn babies, the Interior Ministry said.

The Afghan interior and health ministry officials said that mothers, nurses and children were among the dead and wounded

The attack occurred roughly at 10:00 am local time after at least three gunmen wearing police uniforms entered the Dasht-e-Barchi hospital, throwing grenades and shooting and the counter-attack ended at around 3:30 pm after all attackers were killed, the ministry said in a statement.

"Unfortunately, 12 women and two children were martyred and 15 civilians, including women, children and medical staff, were wounded in the tragic incident," according to the statement.

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One police officer was also killed and two police were wounded in the terrorist attack in the populated area, the statement added.

More than 100 patients and medical personnel were rescued from the building, according to the statement.

This AFP graphic shows a map of Kabul locating a gun attack at a hospital on May 12, 2020.

At least two newborns were wounded by gunshots, according to witnesses.

The 100-bed government-run hospital hosted a maternity clinic run by Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

MSF confirmed in a tweet that the hospital had been attacked and staff and patients were being evacuated. Just hours before it had tweeted a photo of a newborn infant at the clinic in his mother’s arms after being delivered safely by emergency caesarean section.

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

This April 8, 2020 photo taken in Geneva shows two staff members of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF Doctors Without Borders) wearing protective masks. (FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

Photos from the Ministry of Interior showed two young children lying dead inside the hospital. Soldiers ferried infants out of the compound, some wrapped in blood-stained blankets. Officials said 100 people in total were rescued, including three foreign nationals.

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There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The Taliban, Afghanistan’s main Islamist insurgency group which says it has halted attacks on cities under a US troop withdrawal deal, denied involvement.

The Islamic State militant group operates in Nangahar and has carried out a number of high-profile attacks in Kabul in recent months. On Monday security forces arrested its regional leader in the capital.

Smokes rises from a hospital after gunmen attacked in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 12, 2020. (RAHMAT GUL / AP