Suicide blast near Jalalabad airport kills 16

Militants in Afghanistan set off a suicide blast on Wednesday morning and stormed a construction company near the airport in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least 16 people, officials said.

The dawn assault triggered an hours-long gunbattle with local guards, drawing in U.S. forces to assist the Afghan troops in the shootout. Along with the 16 killed, nine people were also wounded in the attack, according to Attahullah Khogyani, the provincial governor's spokesman.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar. Wednesday's attack began around 5 am and five attackers were involved, Khogyani said. It was unclear why the construction company, called MQ, was targeted. The attack was over by 10:30 am when the last of the attackers was killed.

09
No. of people wounded in the attack

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