Save the Children suspends operations in Afghanistan

Save the Children suspended operations across Afghanistan on Wednesday as Islamic State militants terrorised staff trapped inside one of its offices in a deadly hours-long attack, the latest assault on a foreign charity. Gunmen blasted their way into the British aid group's compound in the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing at least three people and wounding 27. Save the Children and an AFP reporter at the scene 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. "In response to this all of our programmes across Afghanistan have been temporarily suspended and our offices are closed."
After blowing up a car outside the charity's compound in Jalalabad, the attackers used a rocket-propelled grenade to storm the complex, in a raid claimed by IS via its propaganda arm Amaq. Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the Nangarhar provincial governor, said at least three people - two guards and a civilian - had been killed and 27 wounded in the attack involving six assailants. Up to 50 people including women were rescued from a basement where they had been hiding from attackers, Khogyani said in a statement.
UK ambassador to Afghanistan Nicholas Kay condemned the attack in a tweet. "This is an outrage. Any attack on children & humanitarians is a crime against humanity," Kay said. The European Union said the assault was a "grave violation of international humanitarian law".
Mohammad Amin, who was inside the compound when the attackers launched the raid at 9:10 am (0440 GMT), told AFP from his hospital bed that he heard "a big blast". "We ran for cover and I saw a gunman hitting the main gate with an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) to enter the compound. I jumped out of the window," Amin said. Afghan TV news channels showed a thick plume of black smoke rising above the compound and what appeared to be at least one vehicle on fire outside the office.