Kabul: A suicide bomb attack on Wednesday in country’s eastern city Jalalabad killed at least 16 and injured nine employees of an Afghan company.
The bloody assault began early Wednesday where two separate blasts were heard, reported AFP. The security forces rushed to the scene in the city which is also the capital of Nangarhar province. An hour-long gun battle ensued which resulted in five attackers getting killed.
“Armed suicide bombers attacked and managed to enter the building of a private construction company early this morning,” said Nangarhar Provincial council member Zabihullah Zmarai.
“A number of civilian workers of the company have been killed,” he added.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. But both the Islamic State group and the Taliban are active in Nangarhar province.
The bombings come as US and Taliban negotiations continue to hold ongoing peace talks in Qatar aimed at ending the nearly 18-year conflict.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly voiced his eagerness to end America’s involvement in Afghanistan, where 14,000 US troops are still deployed.
Afghanistan has been enmeshed in nearly constant conflict since the Soviet invasion of 1979, which was followed by civil war, the Taliban rule, and the US invasion in late 2001.
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