Explosions and gunshots that lasted approximately twenty minutes were heard near the Indian consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif late on Sunday evening. An unconfirmed number of gunmen attempted to enter the compound, a spokesman for the local governor said.
Local media has confirmed that two attackers have been killed and that two more could be hiding in a building under construction. Afghanistan Security Forces have surrounded the area.
According to journalist Bilal Sarwary, at least two people have been injured.
Speaking to Times Now, Mr Pervez, a spokesperson for the governor of the province of Balkh in Afghanistan, said that the attack took place approximately a 100 mts from the consulate, and not inside it. He declined to confirm whether or not the consulate was the target of the attack. He did say, however, that the governor was present on site and that the situation was under control. Both he and the B Sarkar, Consul General, Mazar-i-Sharif have said that there all consular staff are safe and that the building has been evacuated.
Qais Mowafaq, a journalist from Kabul, Afghanistan, spoke to CNN-IBN and said that four or five attackers tried to break into the Indian Consulate through the back gate. One suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate. He also confirmed that Afghan forces are in the process of neutralising the attack.
Qais Mowafaq’s statement is in contradiction to Mr Pervez’s, who said that the attack was near the consulate, and not inside it.
Other sources have also confirmed that the attackers tried to enter the consulate.
Muneer Ahmad Farhad, a spokesman for the Balkh province governor, said insurgents had hidden in a house near the consulate and struck after darkness fell. He said attackers had tried to enter the consulate but had so far not been able to.
The incident has occurred while Indian security forces are trying to suppress an attack on an air base in Pathankot, in Punjab, that has killed at least seven military personnel and wounded 20 others.
(With agency inputs)
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