Dozens killed in attack on hospital in Kabul

At least 30 people have been killed in an attack on a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, as radical group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the atrocity.

Gunmen disguised as doctors reportedly entered the building and engaged in firefights with security in the area for hours, with dozens more being injured in the process.

The 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital is located just yards away from the US embassy in the Afghan city, and the attack began with a suicide bombing at the back of the complex, with further explosions heard during the engagement with special forces.

Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack, saying that it "trampled on all human values".

"In all religions, a hospital is regarded as an immune site and attacking it is attacking the whole of Afghanistan," he added.

Some of those who were in the hospital at the time of the shooting described a chaotic scene inside in which the assailants fired indiscriminately.

"Suddenly gunfire broke out and a gunman was shooting at everyone," survivor Zahir Khan told Reuters. "He was shooting at doctors, patients and visitors."

Islamic State has carried out a series of attacks throughout Afghanistan and Pakistan since it declared its Khorasan province in 2015, in addition to several other attacks throughout continental Europe and in the rest of the Middle East.