More than 300 prisoners were at large on Monday after an Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) attack on a prison in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad, a spokesman said on Monday.
The assault began on Sunday night, with at least 29 people killed and more than 50 wounded, said Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.
Of the 1,793 prisoners, just over 1,025 tried to escape and were recaptured, while 430 had remained inside the prison. “The rest are missing,” according to the spokesman, who said that civilians, prisoners and members of the security forces were among the victims.
Nangarhar local security officials said that the attack on a prison and an adjacent shopping plaza in Jalalabad city ended on Monday, after nearly 20 hours, with the death of eight attackers, Tolo News reported.