JALALABAD: At least 16 persons were killed in multiple explosions took place in eastern Afghanistan’s Jalalabad on Wednesday, officials said, as attackers appeared to target a private construction company near the city’s airport.
The attack began when two suicide bombers set off their explosives outside the company office and gunmen then opened fire, said Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.
As well as the 16 dead at the company, including several of its guards, five attackers were killed – the two bombers and three gunmen, he said.
“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.
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“A number of civilian workers of the company have been killed,” he added.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The bombings come as US and Taliban negotiations continue to hold ongoing peace talks in Qatar aimed at ending the nearly 18-year conflict.
Despite a two-day break before the weekend, negotiations continue on “a daily basis right now and progress is being made”, US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told journalists Tuesday.
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“These discussions are ongoing and what we’re focusing on are the four interconnected issues that are going to compose any future agreement,” Palladino said — listing them as terrorism, troop withdrawal, intra-Afghan dialogue and ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said during an exchange with high school students in Iowa he hoped sufficient gains would be made for him to be able to take a trip to help advance the negotiations “in a couple weeks”.
The continuation of the talks follows a major attack on a joint US-Afghan base in southwestern Afghanistan’s Helmand province last week, with at least 23 security forces killed in the hours-long assault on one of the largest military installations in the country.
