New Delhi (NVI): The attack on a prison Nangarhar prison in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad city ended after an around 18 hours long gunbattle between the terrorists and security officials in which eight attackers were killed.
At least 29 people were also killed while 50 others were left injured after terrorists stormed Nangarhar prison compound in Jalalabad yesterday.
The prison was cleared of terrorists and five of the eight terrorists were killed inside the jail during the clearing operation by the defense and security forces, Fawad Aman, deputy spokesman for the Defense Ministry said in a tweet.
Three prisoners were also killed by terrorists, two of whom were Taliban, he added.
At 6:44 PM yesterday, a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle full of explosives at the entrance gate of the prison in PD4 of Jalalabad city.
Emal Neyazi, Nangarhar’s police chief, told TOLOnews that 2 blasts occurred inside the prison.
According to eyewitnesses, the attack began with a car bomb exploding at the prison entrance gate, and the way was opened for the attackers and they clashed with the security forces.
Nangarhar governor’s spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said the attack continued for so long because attackers used a shopping mall adjacent to the jail as cover.
According to the official, the dead bodies of 29 civilians were recovered from the spot and transferred to the provincial hospital. 50 injured people have been hospitalised. He said the wounded people are in stable condition.
The clearing operations were conducted slowly to protect the lives of policemen and inmates in the prison, and civilians in the mall, the official said.
Clashes also took place inside the prison after terrorists broke in but 700 inmates who fled the jail were re-captured. A total of 1,500 inmates were in the prison originally, a government source told TOLO news.
As per local media, Daesh (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack but these are unconfirmed reports.
The Taliban has denied involvement in the attack. The attack began on the last day of the Eid ceasefire between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
-ARK
