Explosions and gunfire echoed Wednesday as militants attacked the Indian consulate in Jalalabad in the latest assault to rattle the eastern Afghan city.
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Eight civilians have been killed in the crossfire, the Indian security sources said based on primary reports from the attack site. The nature of the blast might have been group attack or complex assault, involving several attackers, the official said. But the four attackers were killed before being able to enter the consulate compound, said Attahullah Khugyani, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.
“Three others – two civilians and one policeman – were killed and 19 other people were left wounded”.
“There is still much work to be done”. Find us on Facebook too! The initial onslaught was countered by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) which was later joined by the Afghan securitymen. “(Their) desire to improve and their resilience warrants our continued support in the critical years ahead”.
Two months ago, heavily-armed terrorists carried out an attack on the Indian mission in Mazar-e-Sharif which lasted for over 25 hours with all the attackers who attempted to storm the building getting killed by the Afghan forces.
India is a particular target as the Taliban are believed to be a proxy force of the Pakistani authorities often used to keep India’s influence in Afghanistan in check.
Delegates from Afghanistan, China, the United States and Pakistan recently met in Kabul for a fourth round of talks aimed at paving the way for the nascent peace process.
No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack and it was not immediately known if there were any casualties.
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The violence tearing the country apart is having a devastating impact on Afghan civilians.
