The IS said the attack targeted British, Swedish and Afghan government institutions in a statement on its Amaq news agency.

Gunmen stormed an office of the Save the Children aid agency in Afghanistan’s eastern city of Jalalabad on Wednesday and battled security forces surrounding the building, with at least three people killed and 20 wounded, officials said.

Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack, which began with a suicide car bomb outside the office at about 9 a.m., followed by gunmen entering the compound.

Blast in office

“There was a blast and the target was Save the Children,” said Attaullah Khogyani, a provincial government spokesman. “Attackers entered the compound and the fight is going on.”

Some witnesses said there appeared to have been at least four attackers in police uniform, a commonly used tactic, but there was no immediate official confirmation.

It was not clear if two of the dead were attackers or civilians, the spokesman said. A member of the security forces was also killed.

The IS said the attack targeted British, Swedish and Afghan government institutions in a statement on its Amaq news agency.

Save the Children was founded in Britain and a Swedish aid group office and a building of the Afghan Department of Women's Affairs are near the compound.

Save the Children, which says it reaches almost 1.4 million children in Afghanistan, said it had suspended its operations temporarily and closed its offices in Afghanistan. “Our primary concern remains to secure the safety of all of our staff,” a group representative said in an emailed statement.