Islamic State militants target Afghanistan prison

At least 39 people died and 50 others sustained injuries after a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a car at the main entrance to a prison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on Sunday. Other armed militants stormed inside the facility and opened fire. Afghan security forces regained control of the prison by Monday afternoon and recaptured about 1,000 prisoners who escaped during the attack, said Attaullah Khogyani, the provincial governor’s spokesman.

What prompted the attack? A day earlier, Afghan special forces killed a senior Islamic State commander near Jalalabad. Several of the prisoners are suspected members of the terror group. The Afghan government is negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban, which denies involvement in a separate suicide bombing on Thursday that killed nine people and injured 40 others.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s report in Globe Trot on the Taliban’s failure to meet all conditions for a peace deal.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.