ISIL Attack Prison in Afghanistan, 75 Prisoners Escape
The militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) said it was behind the attack in the central prison of the city of Jalalabad, Afghanistan last night. The attack caused a number of prisoners to flee.
The attack began when a car bomb was detonated at the prison entrance by a group of armed men. The attack continued through the night until Monday morning.
Reported by the BBC on Monday (3/8), at least 21 people were killed, said a spokesman for Nangarhar Province.
According to Attaullah Khogyani, 43 people were injured and rushed to hospital. He said three attackers were killed and several others continued to fight the security forces from the top floor of a residential building.
The prison holds more than 1,700 inmates, most of whom are members of ISIS and the Taliban, a security source told AFP.
During the chaos, more than 75 prisoners fled, forcing the police to shift the duties of personnel to pursue them, according to officials.
It was unclear whether the attack was aimed at freeing certain prisoners. The attack took place on the last day of a three-day ceasefire agreed by the Afghan and Taliban governments, where hundreds of Taliban prisoners were freed as a condition of peace talks between the two sides.
A UN report in July estimated that there were about 2,200 ISIS members in Afghanistan and although the group was in exile and its leadership seat was vacant, ISIS was still capable of launching bomb attacks.
The Taliban - which is a strong rival of ISIS - previously said it was not responsible for the attack.
SOURCE: MERDEKA