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Save the Children offices attacked in Jalalabad, Afghanistan
[BBC] Attackers have detonated explosives before storming the offices of the Save the Children charity in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad.At least two people have been killed and 12 injured, officials say. It is believed about 50 staff were in the building at the time. At least three gunmen are involved in the attack, reports say, with fighting continuing on the upper floor. The Islamic State group has said it is behind the attack. What's the latest? The attack started at about 09:10 local time (04:40 GMT) on Wednesday when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle explosive at the entrance to the Save the Children compound, Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, told the BBC. An eyewitness who was inside the compound at the time told AFP news agency that he saw a gunman hitting the main gate with a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). Unconfirmed reports say at least two attackers have also been killed. Afghan commandos have joined police to try to end the attack. Local reporter Bilal Sarwary said the army had told him that 45 people have been rescued from the basement, but there is still fighting on the upper floors. Who is responsible? The Islamic State group said in a message on its news outlet Amaq that three attackers and an explosives-laden car had targeted "British, Swedish and Afghan institutions in Jalalabad". The city has been a stronghold for IS, whose fighters have been active there since 2015. The Taliban had earlier denied carrying out the attack.
Posted by: 3dc 2018-01-24 |
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