29 killed in Afghan Prison Attack: Islamic State Claims Responsiblity

Islamic State has claimed to have carried out the attack on Nangarhar prison in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad that has left 29 people dead.

“At least 29 people were killed and 50 others were wounded in Nangarhar prison attack that ended after almost 18 hours,” Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, was quoted as saying by TOLO News Monday.

An IS suicide bomber slammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the prison entrance late on Sunday, reports said. The prison houses about 1500 inmates.

The fight between Afghan security forces and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) gunmen who raided the jail on Sunday night, has now ended. Five attackers were killed and three were captured.

The deceased include prisoners, civilians, prison guards and Afghan security personnel, Al Jazeera wrote, citing Khogyani. The ISIL group's affiliate in Afghanistan, known as IS in Khorasan province, claimed responsibility for the attack. The affiliate is headquartered in Nangarhar province.