Middle East

ISIS Attack On Afghan Prison Kills At Least 21 People

The prison holds about 1,500 inmates. Several hundred are believed to be members of ISIS.

ISIS Attack On Afghan Prison Kills At Least 21 People
Rahmat Gul / AP
SMS

ISIS claimed responsibility Monday for an attack on a prison in eastern Afghanistan. At least 21 people died and 43 were injured when a suicide bomber drove a truck into the Jalalabad facility's entrance.

Police believe several militants slipped away into a nearby residential complex, making it more difficult to flush them out.

The prison holds about 1,500 inmates. Several hundred are believed to be members of ISIS. Security forces recaptured around a thousand inmates who had escaped during the attack.

This comes a day after authorities said Afghan special forces killed a senior ISIS commander near Jalalabad.

A spokesperson for the governor of Nangarhar province said Monday morning that three attackers had been killed, but sporadic gunfire continued from the prison grounds and nearby residential area.