Suicide bombers storm Afghan state broadcaster

Suicide bombers stormed the national television station in Afghanistan's Jalalabad city on Wednesday, killing six people as gunfights and explosions rocked the building with journalists trapped inside, officials and eyewitnesses said.

Four of the dead worked for Radio Television Afghanistan, while the other two were police officers.

The attack began when suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the compound. Other militants then entered and battled security forces for four hours.

At least 17 others were left wounded in the assault which marks the latest in a string of attacks on media workers in the conflict-torn country.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, which is near an ISIS stronghold in the eastern Nangarhar province, near the border with Pakistan.

"There were four attackers - one blew himself up at the gate, killing the guard. Three others entered the building but were killed after our security forces fought them for four hours," Nangarhar Governor Gulab Mangal told reporters.

"Six people, including four civilians and two policemen, were killed and 17 others wounded," he added. 

The US military last month dropped the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, dubbed the "Mother Of All Bombs", on ISIS positions in Nangarhar, killing dozens of militants.

The bombing triggered global shock waves, with some condemning the use of Afghanistan as what they called a testing ground for the weapon, and against a militant group that is not considered as big a threat as the resurgent Taliban.

According to the US Forces-Afghanistan, defections and recent battlefield losses have reduced the local IS presence from a peak of as many as 3,000 fighters to a maximum of 800.