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AFGHANISTAN- COUNCIL OFFICE
2 killed after gunmen attack local council office in Afghan town
JALALABAD, June 8, 2018 (BSS/XINHUA) — One policeman and an assailant were
killed and one police wounded after gunmen attacked a local council office in
eastern Afghanistan’s Jalalabad city on Friday, a local official said.
“Five gunmen attacked Mohmand People Council office roughly at 07:30 a.m.,
triggering a gunfight which caused the casualties. The assailants tried to
enter the building but failed as policemen guarding the compound responded to
the attacker,” a security source told Xinhua.
Four gunmen fled the scene before the arrival of Special Operations Forces
but the security forces also defused several improvised explosive devices
(IEDs) planted at the scene.
The city is the provincial capital of eastern Nangarhar province.
The security forces have launched a massive manhunt in the area to nab the
culprits, the official added.
Attaullah Khogyani, provincial government spokesman, told Xinhua that a
probe was still on.
No group has claimed responsibility for the incident. Taliban militants and
Islamic State (IS) are active in parts of the province.
Taliban militants, who ruled the country before but was ousted in late
2001, renewed armed insurgency, killing government troops as well as
civilians.
They have intensified armed attacks against security forces across the
country since April 25 when the Taliban’s so-called yearly rebel offensive
started.
BSS/XINHUA/GMR/1246 hrs