Title : ISIS suicide bomber and fighters storm TV station in Kabul
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ISIS suicide bomber and fighters storm TV station in Kabul
- Armed militants launch an attack on TV station in Kabul, Afghanistan
- Stormed building while firing off machine guns and grenades
- Staff inside tweeted that between two and five people were killed
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a terror attack on a television station in the Afghan capital of Kabul where at least two people were killed and 20 wounded.
Gunmen disguised as police officers threw hand-grenades at the gate of Shamshad TV this morning, killing a security guard before firing machine guns at journalists.
Afghan special forces surrounded the building and were attacked with rocket propelled grenades during a two-hour siege.
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Moving in: Afghan security personnel arrive at the Shamshad TV building after an attack in Kabul on Tuesday morning
At least one of the ISIS fighters was a suicide bomber who detonated explosives during the attack, local media reports.
'People dressed in police clothes came in and initially threw hand grenades, which killed one of our guards and wounded another,' Abed Ehsas, Shamshad's news director told broadcaster Tolo News TV.
'After that, others got into our building and started firing.
'Some of our colleagues were hit, though, thank God, many others managed to get out. Some were wounded by gunshots, falling glass and when they jumped from high floors.'
During the attack, a special forces unit blasted a hole in the concrete wall around the compound and entered the site amid a crack of gunfire.
At least one attacker was killed during the operation, while another was killed at the compound entrance.
Terror: A video filmed from outside the building shows Afghan security forces swarming around the building where armed gunmen are holding journalists hostage
Staff at Shamshad TV, who remain inside the building, report that between two and five people appear to have been killed by the attackers
In a statement on its news agency Amaq, Islamic State claimed responsibility, without giving evidence.
The group, based mainly in the eastern province of Nangarhar, has claimed a number of attacks on civilian targets in the Afghan capital.
Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said casualties were feared but he said the number was still unclear.
'I saw three attackers on security cameras entering the TV station building. They first shot the guard and then entered the building. They started throwing grenades and firing,' Shamshad TV reporter Faisal Zaland, who escaped through a back door, told AFP.
Kabul has been rocked by a series of deadly attacks in recent weeks as the Taliban and Islamic State insurgents step up offensives against security installations and mosques.
Violence against Afghan journalists surged in the first half of 2017, a media watchdog said in July.
Fighting back: Afghan security officials take positions near the scene of the attack
Casualties: There have been no immediate confirmation on the number of casualties
Attackers: At least three men are said to have been involved in storming the building on Tuesday morning, and up to five people may be dead inside
Last year the country suffered its deadliest year on record for journalists, according to AJSC, with at least 13 media workers killed - 10 by the Taliban. That made it the second most dangerous place for reporters in the world after Syria.
In January last year, seven employees of popular TV channel Tolo, which is often critical of the insurgents, were killed in a Taliban suicide bombing in Kabul in what the militant group said was revenge for 'spreading propaganda' against them.
It was the first major attack on an Afghan media organisation since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, and spotlighted the dangers faced by media workers in Afghanistan as the security situation worsens.
Security in Kabul has been ramped up since a May 31 truck bomb exploded on the edge of the so-called 'Green Zone', killing around 150 people and wounding 400 others.
That attack also caused extensive damage to 1TV, a private news channel located close to the bombing site. In an act of defiance, the news channel managed to resume operations within a few hours.
Special truck scanners, barriers and permanent and mobile checkpoints have been rolled out across the city since the May bombing.
But a suicide bomber struck again in Kabul's heavily fortified diplomatic quarter last week, killing at least five people, showing that militants can still hit the heart of the city despite tighter security.
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