Save the Children suspends Afghan operations after three staff die in Islamic State attack on compound

Save the Children suspended operations across Afghanistan on Wednesday after Islamic State militants terrorised staff trapped inside one of its offices in a deadly hours-long attack, the latest assault on a foreign charity.

Gunmen blasted their way into the British aid group’s compound in the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing three employees and wounding four others, Save the Children said in a statement.

An Afghan official had earlier confirmed the death toll but put the number of wounded at 27.

“It is with profound sadness that we can confirm three Save the Children staff members were killed earlier today in an attack on our office in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. All other staff have been safely rescued from the office,” Save the Children International chief executive Helle Thorning-Schmidt said, condemning the attack “in the strongest possible terms”.

“We have temporarily suspended our operations across the country following today’s events, however we remain fully committed to helping the most deprived children of Afghanistan.”

After blowing up a car outside the charity’s compound in Jalalabad, the attackers used a rocket-propelled grenade to storm the complex, in a raid claimed by IS via its propaganda arm Amaq.