Herat/ New Delhi (May 23, 2014): According to media reports Indian consulate in the Herat city of Afghanistan has been attacked by at least three heavily-armed gunmen.
Two of the attackers were reportedly killed during a lengthy gun battle with security forces.
An Afghan security personnel in operation
As per BBC police said that [t]he men used nearby houses to fire on the building with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
As per a news published on Hindustan Times (HT)’s website, the gunmen were armed were armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
The Indian foreign ministry said all of its personnel were safe.
According to BBC, “Afghanistan has seen a surge in attacks in recent weeks as foreign troops begin to withdraw from the country”.
It is not clear who carried out this attack.
“The latest attack comes on the eve of the inauguration of new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which will be attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai” BBC has reported.
Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said a deployment of the paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police at the consulate held off the assault until Afghan forces arrived. That force is typically responsible for guarding most of India’s roughly 4,000-kilometer (2,500-mile) border with China, much of it running over snowy mountain ranges.
Akbaruddin said all Indians at the consulate were safe.
“Our consulate and our diplomatic presence in Afghanistan have been under threat,” Akbaruddin tweeted.