Afghanistan attack: Save the Children suspends programmes

The UK charity Save the Children has temporarily suspended its programmes in Afghanistan after an attack on its offices in the city of Jalalabad.

At least three people were killed and 24 were injured when Islamic State (IS) militants detonated explosives and stormed the building.

Fierce gun battles raged for most of the day.

Save the Children said it was closing its offices out of concern for the safety of all its staff.

But it said in a statement that it was "committed to resuming our operations and lifesaving work as quickly as possible".

How did the attack unfold?

The attack started at about 09:10 local time (04:40 GMT) on Wednesday when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle explosive at the entrance to the Save the Children compound, Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province, told the BBC.

One eyewitness spoke of seeing a gunman use a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) to hit the gate.

"An explosion rocked the area and right after that children and people started running away," resident Ghulam Nabi told Reuters news agency. "I saw a vehicle catch fire and then a gunfight started."

Around 45 people inside the building locked themselves in a safe room. One of them later told the BBC: "One of the gunmen was outside the door. We managed to escape through a back exit."

Afghan commandos joined police to fight the militants in a battle which continued into the evening, long after officials said it had ended.

Nangarhar Governor Mohammad Gulab Mangal said there were six attackers, four of whom were killed. It is not clear what happened to the other two.

Two guards and a civilian were killed and 24 people were injured, he told the BBC.

There are several other aid agencies in the area, along with government offices.

What has Save the Children said?

A statement from Save the Children said the group was "devastated" at the news of the attack, and confirmed all its programmes across Afghanistan "have been temporarily suspended and our offices are closed".

"Our primary concern is for the safety and security of our staff," the charity said.

It went on to say that "Afghanistan is one of the most difficult places in the world to be a child and for humanitarian workers to operate in", adding that it was committed to continuing its work in the country "as soon as we can be assured that it is safe to do so".

The UN's mission in Afghanistan said: "Attacks directed at civilians or aid organisations are clear violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes."

UK Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt condemned the attack in a departmental tweet.

What is Save the Children's Afghan work?

The charity has been working in Afghanistan since 1976. It currently runs programmes across 16 provinces in Afghanistan.

According to the aid agency, more than 700,000 children in Afghanistan have been reached over the years through its efforts.

The organisation says it aims to provide better access to education, healthcare and essential supplies to children across the globe.

Why did IS target the charity?

The Islamic State group said in a message on its news outlet Amaq that three attackers and an explosives-laden car had targeted "British, Swedish and Afghan institutions in Jalalabad".

The eastern Afghan city has been a stronghold for IS, whose fighters have been active there since 2015.

What do we know of attacks on charities in Afghanistan?

Aid agency staff are working in tough conditions in the country, facing regular attacks and kidnappings.

The Red Cross announced in October that it was drastically reducing its presence in Afghanistan after seven of its staff were killed in attacks in 2017.

Attacks over the years include:

May 2017: Attackers storm a guesthouse run by a Swedish NGO, Operation Mercy, killing a German woman and Afghan guard
July 2014: Gunmen shoot dead two Finnish women working for a Christian aid charity, the International Assistance Mission (IAM), in the western city of Herat
October 2010: Kidnapped UK aid worker Linda Norgrove is killed in a rescue attempt
August 2010: 10 members of an eye care team working for IAM are shot dead in Nuristan province

Additionally, the US bombing of a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Kunduz in October 2015 killed 22 people.

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