The Islamic State militant group have claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a television station in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar which was reported earlier.

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The attack took the lives of a security guard as well as all three attackers and wounded at least 17 people.

Islamic State, or Daesh as it is generally known in Afghanistan, has established a stronghold in the province bordering Pakistan, where it fights both the Taliban and Afghan government forces.

As the attack unfolded, heavy gunfire could be heard from around the building of RTA, Afghanistan's national broadcaster, located close to the governor's compound in the provincial capital, Jalalabad.

Two of the attackers blew themselves up at the start of the operation but a third engaged security forces in a heavy gunbattle before being killed, said Attaullah Khughyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Nine of the 17 wounded were discharged from a hospital after being treated, he added.