JALALABAD, Aug 3 (NNN-XINHUA) – Two civilians were killed and 24 others wounded, in a car bomb blast and ensuing gunfire, outside a prison, in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, yesterday, a local official said.
The attack took place during a three-day Eid al-Adha ceasefire, between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
“Terrorists detonated a car bomb at the front gate of Nangarhar prison, roughly at 6:30 p.m. (local time), destroying the front wall of the building,” provincial government spokesman, Attahullah Khogiani, told Xinhua.
The spokesman added that a group of assailants engaged with the prison guards and tried to enter into the prison, after the blast.
“The security forces are responding to the attack and they are trying to foil the terrorist vicious plan to infiltrate into the prison building,” he said. The exchange of fire continued as of 8:30 p.m. local time, yesterday.
The blast sent a column of thick smoke into the sky and triggered panic, the spokesman said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The Daesh group also has presence in the region, 120 km east of Kabul.
The blast came as the Afghan security forces and Taliban militants were observing the Eid festival truce, which ended late last night.– NNN-XINHUA
