29 killed, 50 wounded in prison attack in Afghanistan - UPDATED

29 killed, 50 wounded in prison attack in Afghanistan  - UPDATED
# 03 August 2020 15:36 (UTC +04:00)

The Islamic State group attacked a prison in eastern Afghanistan holding hundreds of its members, leading to an hourslong battle Monday that saw the military retake control of the facility even as militants continued to fire on them from a nearby neighbourhood. The fighting killed at least 29 people and wounded 50, authorities said, APA reports citing Tolo News.

Security forces seized the prison Monday afternoon in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, some 115 kilometres (70 miles) east of Kabul, Defence Ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said.

Sporadic gunfire rang out from nearby residential buildings in central Jalalabad, an area of high security near the provincial governor's office.

The attack highlighted the challenges ahead for Afghanistan, even as U.S. and NATO forces begin to withdraw following America striking a peace deal with the Taliban.

As security forces swept through the prison, they found the bodies of two Taliban prisoners apparently killed by the Islamic State group, showing the tensions between the two militant factions battling each other in eastern Afghanistan.

The 29 dead included civilians, prisoners, guards and Afghan security forces, said Attaullah Khogyani, the provincial governor's spokesman.

***13:32

At least 21 people were killed and 43 others wounded in an attack on a prison in eastern Afghanistan, local officials said on Monday, APA reports citing Anadolu.

The attack in a Jalalabad prison started on Sunday and continued Monday, said Ataullah Hogyani, a spokesman for the governor.

"The clash is still ongoing close to the prison in Jalalabad city and and has continued for so long because attackers use shopping malls as cover," local broadcaster Tolo News reported Hogyani as saying.

An attacker detonated a bomb-laden vehicle at the entrance gate of the prison on Sunday, while other attackers entered the prison and clashed with security forces, Hogyani told Anadolu Agency.

So far three attackers were killed in the clash and the operation is underway to find other attackers, he added.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the the attack, and the Taliban denied involvement.

The attack began on the last day of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha cease-fire between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

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