Militant group Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a television station in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar that killed a security guard as well as all three attackers and wounded at least 17 people on Wednesday.
"Islamic State fighters are currently carrying out an attack inside the state broadcasting building in the city of Jalalabad," the movement's AMAQ newsagency said in a statement on instant messaging service Telegram.
Attaullah Khughyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor said two of the attackers blew themselves up at the start of the operation but a third engaged security forces in a heavy gunbattle before being killed.
Report said as the attack unfolded, heavy gunfire could be heard from around the building of RTA, Afghanistan's national broadcaster that is located close to the governor's compound in the provincial capital, Jalalabad.
The authorities said nine of the 17 wounded were discharged from a hospital after being treated.
Islamic State, or Daesh as it is generally known in Afghanistan, has established a stronghold in the province bordering Pakistan, where it fights both the Taliban and Afghan government forces. However, the Taliban, which also has a strong presence in the region, denied responsibility.
Recently, Islamic State has been hit hard by U.S. air strikes and Special Forces operations. Abdul Hassib, the head of Islamic State in Afghanistan, was reported this month to have been killed in a joint Afghan-U.S. operation in Nangarhar at the end of April.
Apart from this, the 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.
