"Three armed assailants stormed the hospital building roughly at 10:00 a.m. (local time). One assailant was shot and killed by Crisis Response Unit (CRU) of Afghan National Police. The CRU is clearing the building during an ongoing counter-attack," the ministry said in a statement.

Sporadic firing still could be heard in the area as of Tuesday afternoon in the populated neighborhood.

The killed included two women and two children.

More than 80 patients and medical personnel were rescued from the building shortly after the CRU forces arrive in the area, the statement added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

Over the past months, the capital city with a population of nearly five million has been hit by a series of terror attacks by Taliban insurgents.  

Image: Col Rahman Rahmani Twitter page