Jalalabad blast: 'Gun battle' as attackers storm Afghan government building
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Gunmen stormed a government building in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad after multiple explosions, with 11 people wounded, officials have said.
At least two blasts were heard before the attackers entered the compound of the refugees and repatriations department, said Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.
Several foreign organisations were also in the vicinity.
Before the attack began, representatives of foreign donors and agencies were meeting department employees inside the building, Mr Khogyani said.
It is not clear if the meeting was still underway when the attackers entered the compound.
Mr Khogyani said a “large number” of employees had to be rescued.
“I saw a black Corolla car drop three armed men at the gate of the refugees and repatriations department,” a witness told AFP.
At least one explosion happened at the gate while two men entered the building, the witness said.
An AFP reporter could hear gunfire as security forces swarmed into the area.
The attack has since ended.
The Taliban have reportedly denied involvement in the attack in a WhatsApp message sent to journalists.
It comes three days after militants raided a midwife training centre in Jalalabad.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack that left at least three people dead and several wounded.
Meanwhile, 11 people have been killed and 31 others, mostly women and children, have been wounded after a roadside bomb hit a Kabul-bound passenger bus in restive western Afghanistan.
The explosion happened as the passenger bus travelled through Bala Baluk district of Farah at 4.30am local time, with provincial police saying the bomb was planted by Taliban and intended for security forces.
The Taliban, which is very active in the region, have not yet confirmed they were responsible for the blast.
Around a dozen of the wounded – mostly members of the Hazara ethnic group who tend to follow Shiite Islam in the Sunni-dominated country – were taken to a hospital in Herat.
Most of them were suffering from head injuries and broken bones, Ibrahim Mohammadi, a doctor at the hospital, told AFP.
Among the wounded was Mohammad Zahir, 40, who had been travelling with his newly married daughter to visit relatives in Kabul.
“The bus was driving on the main road when I heard a big bang,” Zahir told AFP.
“When I woke up I found myself in the hospital. I still don’t know what’s happened to my daughter.”
A photo posted on social media purportedly of the bus showed the vehicle’s blackened shell and dozens of Afghan men at the scene.
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