News / Afghanistan

Militants attack midwife training center in Jalalabad

Saturday, 28 July 2018 9:44 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 28 July 2018 10:18 AM ]

Afghan security forces arrive at an area where explosions and gunshots were heard, in Jalalabad city on July 28, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

Several people have been injured after gunmen stormed a midwife training center in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Saturday.

The attack on the dormitory for trainee midwives in the capital of Nangarhar province was followed by sporadic gunshots, a provincial health department spokesman said.

Nangarhar provincial spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said several students, most of them from Nuristan province in eastern Afghanistan, had been evacuated from the dormitory.

The attack was the latest in a series to hit the volatile city in recent months. The last major attack happened earlier this month when gunmen raided an education department compound, sparking an hours-long battle with security forces in which nearly a dozen people were killed.

Smoke rises from a building during an ongoing attack between Afghan security forces and attackers at a government building in Jalalabad on May 13, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but the Daesh terror group has claimed the previous attacks.

According to a UN report, the Takfiri group was behind some 52 percent of deaths caused by complex militant attacks in the country this year.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said militant attacks have caused 1,413 casualties in Afghanistan since the start of 2018, a sharp 22-percent rise from figures seen in the same period last year. It said the Taliban were behind 40 percent of the attacks.

Daesh gained a foothold in Afghanistan in 2014 when some Taliban commanders switched sides after a leadership crisis erupted in the militant group.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 with the express aim of toppling the Taliban. The group has, however, been involved in widespread militancy, killing thousands of civilians and Afghan security forces. Tens of thousands of people have also been displaced across the country.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (R), accompanied by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in the capital Kabul, on July 9, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

Back in February, President Ashraf Ghani called on the Taliban to join peace talks “without preconditions.” Ghani said the militants would need to recognize the Afghan government and respect the rule of law.

On a surprise visit to Afghanistan earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo promised support for peace talks with the Taliban, saying Washington would be willing to take part in the peace talks.

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