Several Killed or Injured As Gunmen Storm Prison in Afghanistan (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – At least 11 people were killed and 42 others were wounded in an attack by gunmen on a prison compound in the Afghan city of Jalalabad.
According to Afghan officials, a battle is under way following an attack claimed by the Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) terrorist group in eastern Afghanistan.
The complex assault on Sunday afternoon began with a suicide bomber detonating a car laden with explosives near the entrance of the government-run facility, followed by multiple attackers opening fire on security guards.
Afghan police and special forces were deployed to the scene and an hours-long gun battle with the assailants ensued.
Afghan officials said the death toll could rise.
Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the armed group's propaganda arm, Amaq.
There were also reports of dozens of prisoners escaping from the facility. Nangarhar police spokesman Tareq Aziz told AFP that about 100 inmates tried to escape but many of them were captured by security forces.
Earlier, a Taliban spokesperson said on Twitter that the group was not involved in the attack, which came on the final day of a rare truce between it and the Afghan government to mark the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday.
The prison attack came a day after the Afghan intelligence agency said a senior Daesh commander was killed by Afghan special forces near Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.
Nangarhar has been hit by regular attacks, several of them claimed by Daesh.
