Gunmen take dozens hostage in eastern Afghan city

No claim of responsibility for both episodes as yet

JALALABAD/ HERAT: Militants stormed a government building in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Tuesday, taking dozens of people hostage after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance gate, officials and witnesses said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though a spate of deadly attacks on the city in recent weeks have been seen as a show of force by the Islamic State militant group.

According to one witness, a passerby named Obaidullah, the latest attack began when a black car with three occupants pulled up at the entrance to a building used by the department of refugee affairs, and a gunman got out firing around him.

One attacker blew himself at the gate and the two other gunmen entered the building, in an area close to shops and government offices, said Obaidullah.

A few minutes later, the car blew up, wounding a number of people in the street, he said.

“We saw several people wounded and helped to carry them away,” Obaidullah said.

As security forces closed off the area, gunshots could be heard and a clouds of black smoke spiraled into the sky above the area.

Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the local provincial council, said around 40 people appeared to be caught inside the building, which caught fire in the initial stages of the attack.

One hostage had called the security services and told them that the attackers had ordered the people inside not to move, he said.

Gunmen take dozens hostage in eastern Afghan cityPHOTO:REUTERS

Provincial government spokesperson Attaullah Khogyani said the attack happened during a meeting with NGOs working on refugee-related issues. The head of the department and several other people were taken to safety, he said.

Although it is unclear whether there is any direct connection, Islamic State attacks have picked up as hopes for peace talks between the government and the Taliban have grown in the wake of last month’s three-day ceasefire.

Bomb explosion kills eight

Earlier a roadside bomb hit a Kabul-bound passenger bus in restive western Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least eight people and wounding around 40, mostly women and children, officials said.

"It was a bomb planted by the Taliban to hit security forces but... it got a passenger bus," Farah provincial police spokesman Muhibullah Muhib told AFP.

There was no immediate confirmation from the Taliban that they were responsible for the blast.



Afghanistan's largest militant group is very active in the region and often uses improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against Afghan and foreign forces.

The passenger bus began its journey in the western city of Herat and was driving towards the Afghan capital.

The explosion happened as it travelled through Bala Baluk district of Farah at 4:30 am, provincial governor spokesman Naser Mehri told AFP.

Around a dozen of the wounded -- mostly members of the Hazara ethnic group who tend to follow Shiite Islam in the Sunni-dominated country -- were taken to a hospital in Herat.

Most of them were suffering head injuries and broken bones, Ibrahim Mohammadi, a doctor at the hospital, told AFP.

Among the wounded was Mohammad Zahir, 40, who had been travelling with his newly married daughter to visit relatives in Kabul.

"The bus was driving on the main road when I heard a big bang," Zahir told AFP.



"When I woke up I found myself in the hospital. I still don't know what's happened to my daughter."

A photo posted on social media purportedly of the bus showed the vehicle's blackened shell and dozens of Afghan men at the scene.
Some were peering inside the bus, while others were walking through the wreckage.

A number of emergency vehicles could be seen in the photo.
Civilians have borne the brunt of the 17-year conflict and IEDs, such as remotely detonated or pressure-plate bombs, are one of the main causes of casualties.

Such IEDs caused 877 civilian casualties in the first half of 2018 -- 232 deaths and 645 wounded -- accounting for 17 percent of overall casualties, the latest UN figures show.

A total of 1,692 civilians were killed in the conflict during the first six months of this year.

That was the highest number of fatalities for the period since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan began keeping records in 2009.



Militant attacks and suicide bombs were the leading causes of death.
Another 3,430 people were wounded in the war, down five percent from the same period last year, the report said.

The Taliban has a heavy presence across western Afghanistan, particularly in Farah. It launched a major attempt to take over the provincial capital in May, triggering intense fighting with US and Afghan forces.

After a day-long battle, the Taliban fighters were forced to the outskirts of the city.