UPDATE - Bomb, gun attack on Afghan TV station

UPDATES WITH END OF ATTACK, TRANSMISSION RESUMES, DAESH CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY, CONDEMNATION

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - A small group of attackers killed at least two security guards in an attack on a TV station in capital Kabul on Tuesday, police said.

The attack on the offices of broadcaster Shamshad began at around 10.45 a.m. local time (0615GMT), local media reported, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the entrance.

At least three hours after the attack, the widely popular Pashto language TV station resumed its transmission, announcing the attack has ended.

“The attack on Shamshad TV has been put to an end by Special Forces of the 222 Unit of the police, we would share more information about the attack with our viewers soon”, a male broadcaster announced in a live telecast.

According to him, two attackers wearing police uniforms had stormed the compound of the TV located near the old Kabul Bazar and surrounded by important government facilities and sports centers.

Two or three gunmen then stormed the building, the TOLO news outlet said.

Shamshad TV is particularly popular in parts of Afghanistan with significant ethnic Pashtoon population, including the eastern Nangarhar province, where pro-Daesh rebels have strong bastions along the border areas with Pakistan.

Salim Ilyas, head of the Afghan National Police’s investigation unit in Kabul confirmed that two or three attackers were involved in the attack.

Shamshad TV’s news director Abed Ehsas told Anadolu Agency that there were no warnings or any immediate threats.

“The staff was busy with their routine work when we heard the initial blast and later gunfire. We all panicked and rushed for our safety here and there”, he said while describing the scene inside the TV station that runs both news and entertainment programs inside and outside Afghanistan via satellite.

Earlier, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said in a statement that all the staff had been safely evacuated.

Daesh terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

The attack has been widely condemned. Nai, an organization supporting press freedom in Afghanistan, has dubbed it as the worst attack in the history of Afghan media.

Last year in January, a van carrying employees of another private television TOLO news were targeted by a Taliban suicide attacker, killing seven of its employees in Kabul.