Blasts, gunshots hit eastern Afghan city

REUTERS - Multiple blasts hit an area of the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Tuesday (July 31) followed by gunfire as an unknown number of gunmen attacked an area of shops and government offices, officials said. Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the local provincial council, said the attack appeared to have targeted a building of the department of refugee affairs. He said there had been at least three explosions. There was no immediate word on casualties. The blasts came amid a series of complex attacks that have hit Jalalabad in recent weeks, killing and wounding dozens of people. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Tuesday's attack but most of the recent attacks have been claimed by militant group Islamic State, which has its main stronghold in Nangarhar province, on the border with Pakistan.