Afghan prison attack leaves 29 people dead, 50 wounded

ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (KUNA) -- At least 29 people were killed and over 50 others received injuries during an attack on a prison and an adjacent shopping plaza in Jalalabad city of Afghanistanآ’s northern Nangarhar province on Monday, said officials.
Nangarhar's police chief, Emal Niazi in a statement to the media said that both the prison and the shopping plaza close to the prison were cleared of attackers and the area is under security forces control.
The attack ended after nearly 18 hours with the death of all eight attackers. The attack begun with a suicide bomb detonated through a vehicle full of explosives at the entrance gate of the prison in PD4 area of Jalalabad, he said.
Following the blast, the attackers began fighting security forces in the prison and the nearby shopping area, he added.
Nangarhar governorآ’s spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani also announced the attack on Nangarhar prison had ended, with "at least 29 people killed and 50 wounded." The dead included civilians, prisoners, guards and Afghan security forces, Khogyani said.
Taliban rebels have denied any involvement in the attack. According to local media, the so-called Islamic State (IS) group in Khorasan province has claimed responsibility for the attack. The aim of the attack wasnآ’t clear immediately but some prisoners are feared to escape from the prison during the fight. The prison houses about 1,500 inmates including hundreds of IS members.
The attack began on the last day of the Eid ceasefire between the Taliban rebels and the Afghan government.
The prison attack came at a time when the United States has paced up its efforts to initiate intra-Afghan talks in wake of the peace deal signed between the US and Taliban in Doha, Qatar. The peace deal focused on US troops withdrawal and reduction in violence in Afghanistan that led to the recent prisonersآ’ exchange between Taliban and Afghan government.
The Afghan government has released 317 Taliban prisoners in the past two days from Parwan and other provinces, bringing the total to 4,917, said the National Security Council, adding that release will continue until the total reaches 5,100. (end) sbk.mt