On Sunday, a terror attack perpetrated by the Islamic State (ISIS) at a prison complex in Jalalabad in Afghanistan has reportedly led to the escape of 300 inmates. As per reports, 29 people were killed in the terror attack, and 8 terrorists were neutralised following a 20-hour long gunfight.
The ISIS terrorists detonated car bombs outside the entrance of a prison in Jalalabad that housed 1,793 inmates belonging to the Taliban and the Islamic State. However, it is not clear when the objective of the attack was to free specific jihadists. Reportedly, 1025 prisoners who had initially escaped were brought back to jail and around 50 inmates were injured. As per reports, 430 people were rescued by the Afghan security forces.
Reportedly, jailbreaks are common in Afghanistan but the attack in Jalalabad was a complex and well-cordinated terror attack orchestrated by the Islamic State. The terror outfit has its headquarters in the Khorasan Province (ISKP) since January 2015. As per reports, despite recent loss of territory, the Islamic State has sleeper cells in Kabul and Jalalabad.
According to journalist Rahul Pandita, top intelligence sources have revealed that the suicide bomber involved in the terror attack hailed from Kasargod in Kerala. The terrorist, Kalukettiya Purayil Ijas, had reportedly fled to Khorasan in June 2016 with his family through Muscat. As per Rahul Pandita, the child and wife of the slain terrorist are in the custody of Afghan authorities.
https://twitter.com/rahulpandita/status/1290593977620525057?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwTaliban denies involvement in the Jalalabad terror attack
The attack happened on the final day of the temporary ceasefire agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban, the rival of the Islamic State. Reportedly, the Taliban had declared a ceasefire on the occasion of Bakr Eid. “We have a cease-fire and are not involved in any of these attacks anywhere in the country,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen was quoted as saying. According to the UN, there are around 2000 ISIS terrorists in Afghanistan. The organisation noted that the terror outfit is still capable of launching high-profile attacks in various parts of the country, including Kabul.
Islamic State attacks hospital in Kabul during Ramzan
Amidst the Islamic holy month of Ramzan when pious Muslims across the world observe dawn-to-dusk fasting, the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul, was rocked with two separate terror attacks, with one of them being carried out on a medical facility in the Shiite-populated area of the capital. Terrorists who swore allegiance to the Islamic State stormed the maternity hospital in the western part of the Afghan capital Kabul and killed 16 people including 2 newborn babies, their mothers, and several nurses.
According to the reports, three armed terrorists entered the 100-bed facility, run by Medicins Sans Frontiers, before hours long fierce gun-fight ensued between the terrorists and the police. The terrorists were eventually neutralised by the police force.