Witnesses reported heavy gunfire and explosions.
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Interior Ministry spokesman Seddiq Sediqqi said two police officers died when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a police auto parked outside the consulate at 9 a.m.in the capital of Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan. Only one official was slightly injured by a broken glass.
The attack, which coincided with efforts to restart the stalled peace process with Taliban insurgents and ease diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, added a risky new element to Afghanistan’s volatile security mix.
However, the Afghan officials said all assailants were shot dead by the security forces during the stand off which lasted for nearly three hours. “It was a big attack”, Pakistani Consul General in Jalalabad Farmanullah Khan told The Express Tribune by telephone.
Kabul wants good neighbouring relations with Pakistan as it is important for the economic prosperity of Afghanistan, the envoy said.
Islamic State jihadists Wednesday claimed responsibility for a deadly gun and bomb siege targeting the Pakistani consulate in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad city, in the first attack by the group on the Pakistani government. Two other attackers took refuge in an empty government guest house nearby, it said.
The announcement was made by ISIS, hours after the counter-terror operation was completed by Afghan security forces.
In a similar attack in the restive Helmand provincial capital Lashkar Gah, 555 km south of Kabul, on the same day, three lives including the attacker were killed, a local official said on the condition of anonymity.
Wednesday’s attack is the latest in a spate of violence this month, raising concerns of a tough year ahead for Afghanistan as the Taliban are expected to escalate their attacks, possibly in order to enter into peace negotiations from a position of strength.
Three civilians were among the wounded, the police chief said.
The FO spokesperson demanded comprehensive investigation of the incident, saying that the information extracted in the investigation must also be shared with Pakistan.
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Referring quadrilateral meeting held in Islamabad, he said, “We hope that with the efforts of Pakistan, United States of America and China direct talks between the elected and legitimate government of Afghanistan and Talbaan will resume very soon and violence will end in the country”.
