The death toll in an attack on an Afghan hospital in which infants and nurses were killed has risen to 24, a health official said on Wednesday.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that three gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in Kabul on Tuesday as parents brought infants and children for appointments.

The attackers were eventually killed in a lengthy clearance operation during which heavily armed Afghan security forces carried infants away from the scene - at least one wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket.

On Wednesday, Afghanistan's Deputy Health Minister Waheed Majroh said at least 24 people were killed in the attack and another 16 wounded. The authorities had earlier said 14 people died.

No group has so far claimed the attack, but President Ashraf Ghani has blamed both the Taliban and the ISIS group.