An Al-Jazeera correspondent in Afghanistan reported that a government official said that 5 people were killed and 30 wounded in a suicide attack on the central prison in the city of Jalalabad, while ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
The correspondent added that the attackers managed to storm the prison building, that clashes took place between them and the guards inside the prison, and that a number of prisoners managed to escape.
For his part, Sohrab Qadri, a member of the regional council in Jalalabad, said that a car bomb exploded and then at least two bombs exploded outside the prison, followed by a clash between the police and the attackers who were stationed near the prison.
A security cordon was imposed on the area where the Special Forces began the hunt for the attackers, and an exchange of fire occurred late on Sunday evening.
For its part, the Taliban denied any connection with the attack that occurred in the last days of the armistice between the movement and the Afghan government, and the movement's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said, "This is not an attack by us, and our Mujahideen have not yet been authorized to launch attacks."
It is noteworthy that the attack took place a day after Afghan forces announced the killing of the head of ISIS intelligence in Afghanistan, Asadullah Urukazi, in Jalalabad.
ISIS militants used the region as a base for them before Afghan security forces and the Taliban expelled them in recent years.