An exchange of fire between Afghan security forces and Islamic State fighters at a prison in the city of Jalalabad in the early hours of Monday has left at least 24 people dead after the militia group led a mass jailbreak.
The attack started with a car bomb on Sunday at the entrance of the prison, followed by numerous blasts when the group opened fire on the security guards of the facility which houses 2,000 prisoners.
During the attack, 3 militants were killed, while 21 civilians and members of the security forces lost their lives and 43 people were injured, the Governor's spokesman, Attaullah Khugyani said.
The Jalalabad police were forced to divert manpower in recapturing escaped prisoners amid the chaos, and by noon on Monday around 1,000 had been caught, Qaderi said, according to Reuters.
"The whole city of Jalalabad is under curfew, shops are closed." "Jalalabad is completely empty," Qaderi said.
Meanwhile, IS has claimed responsibility for the attack. This comes a day after the Afghan intelligence agency announced the killing of a top commander of the militia group near Jalalabad in Nangarhar.
