7 dead, 11 injured in gunbattle near Pak consulate in Afghanistan

The suicide bomber blew himself up outside a polio vaccination centre, killing at least 15 people, mainly police, officials said.

A four-hour long gunbattle between Afghan security forces and gunmen holed up near the Pakistani consulate in the eastern city of Jalalabad came to an end after all attackers were killed, Afghanistan’s Tolo News reported.

He said that three attackers were killed, including the one who had detonated explosives on his body at around 9 a.m. Seven security personnel died in the attack along with three militants.

The attack took place not far away from the Indian Consulate located in an area which houses foreign missions. Residents and children from a nearby school had to be evacuated.

The Pakistani consulate is near the Indian consulate, a hospital and schools, and is usually busy during morning rush hour as people queue for visas.

Pakistan said all members of the consulate staff were safe, with one official slightly injured by broken glass.

Talking about the role of Pakistan during the Afghan war, he said that “entire Afghan nation particularly 3.5 million Afghan refugees who remained in Pakistan for decades always keep government as well people of Pakistan at high esteemed for supporting and accommodating them in their crisis time”.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office condemned the attack and said it was in contact with its embassy in Kabul as well as Afghan officials.

Nangarhar is home to a number of insurgent groups and criminal gangs who benefit from the proximity to the Pakistan border. “This is a highly symbolic attack as the Pakistani consulate is a high-profile installation in Jalalabad”.

Security officials have warned against IS gaining a foothold in Afghanistan’s eastern region, where the group reportedly murdered tribal elders, clashed with the rival Taliban, imprisoned families and enforced strict rules on women.

If India considers Pakistan responsible for Pathankot airbase attack, has it acted on its Defence minister’s “tit for tat” threat?

The attack on the ARY News Islamabad office was the second such assault on media premises in as many months by the militant group claiming a connection with Islamic State’s self-declared province of Khorasan in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, claimed responsibility for the bomb attack.

On Monday, officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States met in Islamabad to craft a road map for future peace talks with the Taliban and other insurgent groups in Afghanistan.

During the first week of January a restaurant frequented by foreigners in Kabul and a contractor camp on the outskirts of the capital were attacked, and the Indian consulate in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif was besieged for more than 24 hours. He had no further details. A Taliban heartland, Helmand is the source of opium that produces most of the world’s heroin and provides an important funding source for the insurgency.