Three killed in an attack on a school of midwives in Afghanistan «DiePresse.com

According to official sources, at least three people were killed and eight others wounded in an attack by suspected extremists on a midwifery school in Jalalabad City, in the east of the city. ; Afghanistan. The killers were the school staff, two guards and a driver, said the provincial government spokesman, Attaullah Khogyani

When the attack began around 11:30 (local time), about 140 women and two children were in the building. It was only six hours later that the attack ended after one of the attackers blew up his explosive jacket and another was killed by security forces, Khogyani said. About 140 women and two children were saved, but three of them were injured.

In Jalalabad, the capital city of Nangarhar province, there were particularly numerous attacks for months. It was not until mid-July that at least eleven people were killed in a multi-hour attack on a school board. A few days earlier, at least 19 people had been killed in an IS attack in Jalalabad, most members of the country's small Sikh community.

Taliban denies responsibility

Those responsible for the crime remained unclear until the evening. The Taliban rejected any responsibility in the attack. In Nangarhar province, on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, radical Islamic Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia are active. US and Afghan troops have been conducting provocative offensives against extremists for weeks.

Meanwhile, two Taliban officials have confirmed meeting with US government officials, according to a news report. Several representatives of the radical Islamic organization and the American envoy of South Asia, Alice Wells, and other American diplomats had participated in the negotiations in the Gulf Emirate of Qatar a week ago, reported the New York Times Saturday. The meeting was about a peace process in Afghanistan. Islamists expect good results. The US State Department does not deny the talks, writes The New York Times. A Foreign Ministry briefing this week confirmed a Wells trip to Qatar. The Taliban have a semi-official office in Doha

Change in US policy

The deputy head of the High Peace Council in Kabul, Ataullah Salim, said that he had no information on US Taliban negotiations in Doha. However, there should be direct talks between each party and "we will welcome every step that leads to the negotiations in Afghanistan."

Two weeks ago, the "New York Times" reported that the Trump administration had ordered its senior diplomats to seek the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan. It would be a significant change in American politics. Until now, the United States has said that the Taliban should negotiate directly with the Afghan government. They negotiated exclusive negotiations with them. A peace process must take place under the leadership of Afghanistan. But the Taliban reject negotiations with the Afghan government and call it a puppet regime.

(APA / dpa)