The Taliban have denied being involved in the assault.
Jalalabad, Afghanistan:
Gunmen broke into a prison in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least three people and breaking the relative calm of a ceasefire across the country, an official said.
The gunmen brought down a car full of explosives near the prison before opening fire on security guards at the city’s Jalalabad facility, Attaullah Khogyani, spokesperson for the Jalalabad city center, told AFP. governor of Nangarhar province.
“A number of them have taken up positions in a market near the prison and are engaging the security forces,” he said.
“The fighting continues,” he said, but added that government forces were in control.
The Interior Ministry confirmed the attack.
“Based on initial information, at least three people were killed and five others injured,” said Tareq Arian, spokesman for the ministry.
He said police and special forces had been deployed to the site.
The Taliban have denied being involved in the assault, which took place on the last day of a rare truce between the insurgent group and Kabul to mark the Eid al-Adha holiday.
“This is not our attack. Our mujahedin are not yet authorized to carry out attacks,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP.
The province of Nangarhar in eastern Afghanistan has been the scene of regular attacks, including several claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.
On May 12, a suicide bomber killed 32 mourners at the funeral of a provincial police commander in one of the deadliest attacks this year.
This attack was claimed by ISIS.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
