Indian consulate in Afghan city Mazar-i-Sharif attacked, explosions heard

“Fighting is going on”, an Indian consulate official told AFP by telephone from inside the compound.

In a series of tweets, it said: “Balkh governor spokesman told Pajhwok that attackers entered a house and firing on Indian Consulate in Maza-i-Sharif city”.

The suicide vehicle bombing took place near the gates of the embassy during morning hours when officials enter the mission building.

According to Engligh news channel Times Now, security forces have killed two attackers.

Gunmen have attacked the Indian Consulate in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, officials say.

The attack came amid renewed efforts to reduce longstanding tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad and restart peace talks with the Afghan Taliban as part of a broader drive to improve stability in the region.

An Indian official said there had been no reports of Indian casualties so far and it was not certain that the consulate itself was the target of the attack. Similar incident happened to the Indian consulate in Jalalabad in August 2013, when nine civilians, including seven children, were killed.

The surprise visit immediately followed a whirlwind tour of Kabul, where Modi inaugurated a smart Indian-built parliament complex built at an estimated cost of $90 million, and gifted three Russian-made attack helicopters to the Afghan government.