KABUL, Afghanistan -- Gunmen stormed the local headquarters of Afghanistan's state media in the eastern Nangarhar province on Wednesday, setting off clashes that killed 10 people, officials said.
Inamullah Miakhial, a spokesman for the provincial hospital in Nangarhar, said four state TV employees and two police officers were among those killed, and that 18 other people were wounded.
Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said four attackers were killed in the assault, which began with an explosion, followed by a gunbattle with Afghan security forces.
Witnesses reported multiple loud explosions and continuing gunfire.
The state media building is close to the governor's compound and a police station. Video footage from Jalalabad showed hundreds of Afghan security forces fanning out across the city, where shops were closed. The video also showed one suspected militant being arrested by Afghan forces.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. Hours after the Taliban denied involvement, a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the terror monitor group SITE Intelligence.
Affiliates of the Islamic State are active in the province, using the district of Achin as their stronghold. Afghan security forces, accompanied by U.S. advisers and air power, have been trying to reduce the group's territory and number of fighters with multiple operations.
Their numbers have shrunk to about 700 fighters, down from the estimated 2,000 to 3,000 in 2016, according to U.S. military officials. But as the group has lost men and territory, it has claimed more urban attacks.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, three civilians were killed in separate bomb blasts, officials said.
Qais Qadri, spokesman for the governor of eastern Kapisa province, said two civilians were killed and two others were wounded in a bomb blast late Tuesday in the Nijrab district.
Samim Khpolwak, spokesman for the governor of the southern Kandahar province, said a civilian was killed and 10 people were wounded, including three policemen, in a double bombing in the provincial capital. No one immediately claimed either attack.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press and by Khalid Alokozay, Mujib Mashal and Fahim Abed of The New York Times.
A Section on 05/18/2017