KABUL: Gunmen attacked a Doctors Without Borders medical clinic in the western part of the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing eight civilians and wounding several, officials said on Tuesday.

Several people were wounded in the attack on Dasht-e-Barchi Hospital, according to a ministry of interior official, and dozens of people were being evacuated.

Some people remained trapped in the hospital and several doctors had leapt to an adjacent building after at least three attackers wearing police uniforms entered, throwing grenades and shooting, government officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Taliban said they were not involved.

The 100-bed government-run facility is supported by Doctors Without Borders, which is also known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said Wahidullah Mayar, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

Security forces were working to counter the attack and 80 people including women and children had been evacuated, said interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian.

The security forces had shot one attacker but clashes were going on, he said.

Deputy health minister Waheed Majroh said eight people including children had been wounded and taken to other hospitals.

MSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It says on its website it operates a maternity clinic at the hospital in one of Kabul’s poorest neighbourhoods.

On Monday, security forces said they had arrested three senior Daesh members including a regional leader.

Last week, security forces killed and arrested several members of an Daesh cell that authorities said was responsible for several attacks in Kabul including one on a Sikh temple in March. Frontières, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Roadside blasts in the capital on Monday, which wounded four civilians, were claimed by the group.

Afghanistan is also facing violence around the country from the Taliban even as the United States tries to usher in peace talks after signing a troop withdrawal agreement in February with the militants.

The Taliban say they are holding back from attacking urban centres and their operations are aimed at government security forces.

Also on Tuesday, 40 people were killed or wounded in an attack at the funeral of a police commander in the eastern province of Nangarhar, according to Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial government.