Gunmen storm education department in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 10

Gunmen stormed an educaton department compound in Afghanistan's east on Wednesday, killing at least 10 people in an hours-long battle with security forces.

Ten others were wounded in the second attack to strike Jalalabad city in recent days, Nangarhar provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said in a statement.

It is not clear how many government workers were trapped inside the building during the fierce gunbattle that has now ended.

"So far 10 bodies have been recovered and taken to local hospitals. Ten people have also been wounded," Khogyani said.

An AFP reporter at the scene also saw the remains of two bodies officials said were the attackers. 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the raid.

Nangarhar's provincial capital has seen an uptick in violence in recent weeks, with the Islamic State group claiming most of the attacks.

On Tuesday, a suicide attack in the city targeting Afghan security forces killed at least 12 people and ignited a nearby petrol station, with witnesses describing screaming victims "swallowed" by flames.

IS claimed that attack via its Amaq propaganda agency.

The uptick in high-casualty suicide bomb attacks in recent weeks comes as US and Afghan forces continue operations against the group.

Wednesday's attack also comes a day after President Ashraf Ghani flew to Brussels to attend a NATO summit where he will be hoping to get a greater commitment from members to the nearly 17-year conflict.

Currently, there are about 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan, providing the main component of the NATO mission there to support and train local forces.

A ceasefire last month between Afghan security forces and the Taliban during the Islamic holiday Eid had raised hopes that an end to hostilities in the war-weary country was possible.

Since then, however, the Taliban has returned to the battlefield and IS, which was not involved in the truce, has continued to carry out deadly attacks.

Agencies contributed to this report. 

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