Afghanistan: Gunmen attack Save the Children office in Jalalabad, injure 11
A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the gate of the compound before the attack began.
Unidentified gunmen attacked the Save the Children organisation’s office in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad city on Wednesday, TOLOnews reported. The news channel reported that two of the gunmen, who injured at least 11 people, had been killed.
Save the Children is an international non-governmental organisation which promotes children’s rights and provides them relief and support. “We are devastated at the news that our Save the Children office in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, came under attack this morning,” the organisation said in a statement. “Our primary concern is for the safety and security of our staff.”
A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the gate of the compound at around 9 am local time (10.30 am Indian Standard Time). After this, gunmen entered the Save the Children office and opened fire. The gunmen were firing at security forces from higher floors in the building with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, the BBC reported.
#SaveTheChildren – #Afghan special forces continue to fight insurgents holed up in the international organization’s compound in #Jalalabad – three hours after an unconfirmed number of militants stormed the building. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/QjkCMjqd1N
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) January 24, 2018
Attaullah Khoghyani, a spokesperson for Nangarhar Provincial Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal told Tolonews that security forces and the attackers are engaged in crossfire. Eyewitnesses reported children from a nearby school fleeing while gunfire could be heard.
On Saturday, gunmen attacked and laid siege to the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, killing 18 people. The siege ended after a 14-hour operation by security forces.
