JALALABAD, Mar 06 (AFP): At least 16 people were killed in a suicide attack on Wednesday on a construction company in eastern Afghanistan, an official said, the latest bloody assault in the war-torn country.
The hours-long attack in Jalalabad began early Wednesday when at least two blasts were heard, an AFP reporter said, before security forces rushed to the scene in the city, which is the capital of Nangarhar province.
"Sixteen employees of the company have been killed and nine more injured," provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.
"All five attackers have been killed by security forces," he added.
Nangarhar provincial council member Ajmal Omar put the death toll slightly higher, saying 18 people had been killed with three of the nine injured in a critical condition.
Health workers pored over the injured in a nearby hospital, with bloody bandages covering their wounds.
Spokesman Khogyani added that a clearance operation was ongoing with security defusing two suicide vests, a car bomb, and multiple mines planted by the attackers.
"Armed suicide bombers attacked and managed to enter the building of a private construction company early this morning," said Nangarhar Provincial council member Zabihullah Zmarai.
"A number of civilian workers of the company have been killed," he added.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Islamic State group and the Taliban are active in Nangarhar province.
The attack came as US and Taliban negotiations continue to hold peace talks in Qatar aimed at ending the nearly 18-year conflict.
