13 civilians killed, 42 injured in Jalalabad attack

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): At least 13 civilians were killed and 42 more injured after a car bomb explosion outside the main prison in eastern Nangarhar province, an officialsaid on Monday.

The car bombing happened shortly after 6:30pm on Sunday when gunmen entered the compound and opened intense fire, followed by heavy fighting, which enabled many prisoners to escape.

The governor’s spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani, said the gunmen entered the jail compound after the car bombing.

He added 13 civilians were killed and 43 others wounded in the group attack that enabled about 700 prisoners to escape.

Most of the escapees were re-arrested, the gubernatorial spokesman said. The attack took place amid an ongoing operation in the area, he added.

Some sources claimed seeing at least 10 dead bodies at the site. They revealed at least 50 prisoners escaped during the attack.

Three of the attackers have been killed so far, with a forth still resisting the security forces, according to Khogyani.

sa/mud