Save the Children suspended operations across Afghanistan on Wednesday as Islamic State militants terrorised staff trapped inside one of its offices in an hours-long attack, the latest assault on a foreign charity. Save the Children, an AFP reporter at the scene and a security source said the attack was continuing in the early evening, hours after an official claimed it was over. “Save the Children can confirm that the security incident affecting our office in Jalalabad, Afghanistan is still ongoing,” a spokesperson said in a statement. IS has intensified attacks in cities in recent months, targeting mosques and Afghan security forces as it expands beyond its stronghold in the east. While Afghan security forces are conducting most of the fighting against IS and Taliban militants, US troops operate alongside them in a training capacity and are frequently on the front lines.

Source: Hindustan Times January 24, 2018 17:03 UTC