Six die in attack near Pakistani consulate

The Daesh terror group on Wednesday claimed three attacks on Pakistani targets, including one that left 15 people dead in Quetta city.

Following the suicide bombing, two more attackers occupied a one-story building near Pakistani Consulate office and begun firing on security forces around. “They were well-trained military men who fought Afghan security forces during the 25-hour siege”, Tolo News reported.

“Seven of our security forces were killed and seven others wounded as a result of the terrorist attack”, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said on Twitter.

A suicide bomber blew himself up in which two were killed after being prevented from joining a queue of people seeking visas to Pakistan.

A senior Afghan police official claimed today that Pakistani military officials were allegedly involved in the Indian Consulate attack in Mazar-e-Sharif on January 3.

Nangarhar, the province in which Jalalabad is located, has become the main stronghold of IS in Afghanistan where it has battled the Taliban for leadership of the insurgency.

The group responsible for that attack has not been identified but the incident fuelled suspicion in India about militants sponsored from Pakistan and it cast a shadow over the latest effort to improve relations.

“The Afghan government has also been requested to ensure safety and security of Pakistan Missions in Afghanistan and our officials working there”, it said.

The pace of missile attacks by US drones has increased recently, and scores of militants at IS bases in Nangarhar are reported to have been killed.

Sharif said that “terrorism is a common enemy of both the countries and we will fight this menace together to eliminate it once for all”.

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.

The talks between representatives of Afghanistan, Pakistan, United States and China on Monday came even as the insurgents wage an unprecedented winter campaign of violence.

USA military officials in Kabul confirmed an airstrike was launched in that area Thursday, but said they were unable to determine whether Islamic State’s local commander, Hafiz Saeed Khan, was among the casualties.