At least six people, including a police officer, were killed after ISIS gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, government officials say.

The attackers, carrying AK-47s, entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday, in the latest assault on media workers in the country.

 The raid on the RTA state broadcaster was carried out by four attackers, one of whom had detonated a suicide bomb at the entrance to the compound, said provincial governor Gulab Mangal.

 As the attack unfolded, heavy gunfire was heard from around the RTA building, which is close to the governor’s compound.

 The three others were killed by security forces in the gun battle, Mangal said.

 The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group claimed responsibility for the attack that comes over a week after the leader of ISIL in Afghanistan was killed in a US drone strike.

 “Three attackers are dead and so are three other people,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said quoting police officials.

 At least 16 people, including journalists, were wounded in the attack which took place in central Jalalabad, close to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square, Hendren said.

 Among the dead were four RTA employees, including a driver, a guard, and two technical personnel, as well as two policemen, according to Mangal.

 ISIS has established a stronghold in Nangarhar province, of which Jalalabad is capital, where it fights both the Taliban and Afghan government forces. </s> The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on an Afghan state television station that killed at least six people, as well as the attackers, and injured 24.

The attack, in the eastern city of Jalalabad, was the latest in a series on Afghan journalists and media in recent years.

It came just over a week after it was confirmed the leader of Islamic State in Afghanistan had been killed in a US drone strike.

Islamic State has established a stronghold in Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan, of which Jalalabad is capital, where it fights both the Taliban and Afghan government forces.

The raid on the RTA state broadcaster was carried out by four attackers, one of whom had detonated a suicide bomb at the entrance to the compound, said provincial governor Gulab Mangal.

As the attack unfolded, heavy gunfire could be heard from around the RTA building, which is close to the governor's compound.

"Islamic State fighters are currently carrying out an attack inside the state broadcasting building in the city of Jalalabad," the movement's AMAQ news agency said in a statement on instant messaging service Telegram.

Among the dead were four RTA employees, including a driver, a guard, and two technical personnel, as well as two policemen, according to Mr Mangal.

Seventeen civilians and seven members of the security forces were injured, he added.

The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee condemned the attack and said it was a violation of the rules of war that protect media.

The Taliban, who also have a strong presence in the region, denied responsibility.

Islamic State has recently been hit hard by US air strikes and special forces operations. </s> JALALABAD, Afghanistan The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on an Afghan state television station on Wednesday that killed at least six people as well as the attackers and wounded 24.The attack, in the eastern city of Jalalabad, was the latest in a series on Afghan journalists and media in recent years. It came just over a week after it was confirmed that the leader of Islamic State in Afghanistan had been killed in a U.S. drone strike.Islamic State, or Daesh as it is generally known in Afghanistan, has established a stronghold in Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan, of which Jalalabad is capital, where it fights both the Taliban and Afghan government forces. The raid on the RTA state broadcaster was carried out by four attackers, one of whom had detonated a suicide bomb at the entrance to the compound, said provincial governor Gulab Mangal.As the attack unfolded, heavy gunfire could be heard from around the RTA building, which is close to the governor's compound

"Islamic State fighters are currently carrying out an attack inside the state broadcasting building in the city of Jalalabad," the movement's AMAQ news agency said in a statement on instant messaging service Telegram. The three others were killed by security forces in the gun battle.Among the dead were four RTA employees, including a driver, a guard, and two technical personnel, as well as two policemen, according to Mangal.

Seventeen civilians and seven members of the security forces were wounded, he added.The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee condemned the attack and said it was a violation of the rules of war that protect media as civilians.

The Taliban, who also have a strong presence in the region, denied responsibility.Islamic State has recently been hit hard by U.S. air strikes and special forces operations.The head of Islamic State in Afghanistan, Abdul Hassib, was reported this month to have been killed in a joint Afghan-U.S. operation in Nangarhar at the end of April. Islamic State has also claimed responsibility for a series of high-profile attacks in the capital, Kabul, including one in March on Afghanistan's largest military hospital. (Additional reporting by Mohamed el Sherif in CAIRO; writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> Jalalabad — Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on an Afghan state TV station on Wednesday, which killed at least six people as well as the attackers, and wounded 24.

The attack, in the eastern city of Jalalabad, was the latest in a series on Afghan journalists and media in recent years. It came just more than a week after it was confirmed that the leader of IS in Afghanistan had been killed in a US drone strike.

The militia group has established a stronghold in Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan, of which Jalalabad is the capital, where it fights both the Taliban and Afghan government forces.

The raid on the RTA state broadcaster was carried out by four attackers, one of whom had detonated a suicide bomb at the entrance to the compound, said provincial governor Gulab Mangal.

As the attack unfolded, heavy gunfire could be heard from around the RTA building, which is close to the governor’s compound "IS fighters are currently carrying out an attack inside the state broadcasting building in the city of Jalalabad," the movement’s Amaq news agency said in a statement on instant messaging service Telegram.

The three others were killed by security forces in the gun battle.

Among the dead were four RTA employees, including a driver, a guard and two technical personnel, as well as two police officers, according to Mangal.

Seventeen civilians and seven members of the security forces were wounded, he added.

The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee condemned the attack and said it was a violation of the rules of war that protect media as civilians.

The Taliban, who also have a strong presence in the region, denied responsibility.

IS has recently been hit hard by US air strikes and special forces operations.

The head of IS in Afghanistan, Abdul Hassib, was reported to have been killed in a joint Afghan-US

operation in Nangarhar at the end of April.

IS has also claimed responsibility for a series of high-profile attacks in the capital, Kabul, including one in March on Afghanistan’s largest military hospital. </s> At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

“So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, said.

“The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor’s office and a busy square,” he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with Pakistan.(Al Jazeera) </s> Three people have been killed in a car bomb and gun attack on the office of the non-governmental organisation, Save the Children, in eastern Afghanistan, according to local officials.

Two security guards and one civilian were killed and at least 25 others were wounded when a suicide attacker detonated a car bomb outside the headquarters of the international charity in Jalalabad early on Wednesday morning.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the attack via the group’s Amaq website, describing the targets as “British and Swedish institutes”.

Al Jazeera’s Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kabul, said 47 people were rescued from the office building after Afghan security forces and the attackers battled each other for more than eight hours.

“A harrowing day for them, more than eight-and-a-half hours trapped inside that building with those attackers. They have been rescued,” she said.

At least two attackers have been killed since the fighting broke out, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Jalalabad, Humayoon Babur, an Afghan journalist, said the attack had taken place in “the heart of the city”.

“[The area] is home to many government buildings … [and]the provincial government office,” he said.

Save the Children said it was suspending its operations in Afghanistan until it was safe to resume work.

In a statement, the children’s aid group confirmed that three of its staff members were killed.

“Save the Children condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms,” it said.

“We are shocked and appalled at the violence, carried out against our staff in Afghanistan who are dedicated humanitarians, committed to improving the lives and wellbeing of millions of children across the country.”

Monica Zanarelli, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan, has called the attack “outrageous”.

“Increased violence has made operating in Afghanistan difficult for many organisations,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The ICRC … will continue focusing on our dialogue with arm carriers – both the Afghan National Security Forces and the armed opposition – to discuss the principles of International Humanitarian Law and the respect for civilians and medical missions.”

The Jalalabad attack comes just days after at least 18 civilians were killed and 22 others wounded in an assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul.

The Taliban has since claimed responsibility for that assault, which lasted for 16 hours from the evening of January 20 before all the attackers were killed.

Michael Semple, a professor at Queen’s University Belfast and an expert on Afghanistan, said it was too early to say who was behind Wednesday’s attack, or the rationale behind it.

Looking at recent trends more broadly, however, Semple told Al Jazeera “the Taliban seem to be acting as if all foreigners – the foreign presence – is for them somehow important”.

“They say that they are attacking the invaders and rather than focusing on military targets, they are prepared to go with any element of the foreign presence in Afghanistan,” he said. </s> Afghan security forces have engaged three gunmen who have attacked a state radio and television building in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar Province.

The gunmen began the Wednesday attack by detonating a bomb and managed to enter the state-run radio and television building in the provincial capital Jalalabad.

The building is close to the governor’s compound and a police station.

Heavy gunfire erupted between the security forces and the assailants, while some journalists and staff were trapped in the building, according to a photographer, who said he fled the building as soon as the gunfight started.

Government spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said there were three assailants. “Two of them have been killed and one is still resisting,” he said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties on the side of staff and security forces, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish.

The Takfiri Daesh terror group, which is active in the mountainous eastern province, claimed responsibility for the assault.

Elsewhere in the country, three civilians were killed in separate bomb attacks, officials said on Wednesday.

Two civilians were killed and two others were wounded in a bomb blast late Tuesday in the Nijrab district in Kapisa Province. Another civilian was also killed and 10 others were wounded, including three policemen, in twin bomb blasts in the southern Kandahar Province.

Those attacks have not been claimed by any group, either.

The Taliban have stepped up their attacks with the start of spring. They have been engaging in militancy since a US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, which toppled a government run by them.

Daesh has gained a foothold in Afghanistan more recently.
• Death Toll Rises To Six In RTA TV Attack </s> Armed men wearing suicide vests storm TV station in the capital of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, police say.

At least three gunmen wearing suicide vests have attacked a national television and radio station in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, police have told Al Jazeera.

The attackers, which carried AK-47s, entered Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) on Wednesday and engaged in a gun battle with security forces.

Two of them detonated their vests and at least one remains at large, police said.

"So far, there have been two people and six wounded, including journalists," Al Jazeera's John Hendren, reporting from Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, said.

"The fight could go on for some time because this is in a central part of Jalalabad, right next to the provincial governor's office and a busy square," he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Jalalabad is the capital of Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, on the eastern border with Pakistan. </s> Earlier this month ISIL was blamed for killing six Afghan Red Cross employees in Jowzjan province [File: AFP/Getty Images] Ten police officers and the wife of a commander have been killed in an ambush outside a mosque by Taliban fighters in northern Afghanistan. Mohammad Reza Ghafori, spokesman for the Jowzjan provincial governor, said on Saturday the police officers were attacked on Friday as they were coming out of the mosque.

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Four militants attack a state television building in Jalalabad, killing at least six people. The militants are also killed after engaging with Afghan police. ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.