Gunmen attack Indian Consulate in western Afghanistan province of Herat; diplomats safe
An Afghanistan's National Army (ANA) soldier takes up position near the site of a clash between insurgents and security forces at the Indian Consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, Friday, May 23, 2014. Gunmen armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the Indian Consulate in western Afghanistan's Herat province Friday, an assault that injured no diplomatic staff, police said. Indian officials said there had been a threat against its diplomats in Afghanistan, but gave no other details. (AP Photo/Hoshang Hashimi)The Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan Gunmen armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked an Indian Consulate in western Afghanistan on Friday, though its diplomatic staff escaped unharmed, police said.
At least three gunmen opened fire on the consulate from a nearby building in Herat, provincial police chief Abdul Sami Qatra said. Qatra said police and soldiers killed three assailants in a gunbattle that saw the building catch fire as authorities evacuated neighbors.
Security forces continued to search the area in case there were other gunmen, Qatra said.
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 the Indians at the consulate were safe.
"Our consulate and our diplomatic presence in Afghanistan have been under threat," Akbaruddin told TimesNow TV, without elaborating.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, a group called Ansar al-Tawhid that appears to be based in Afghanistan posted a video online May 17 that threatened India, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist websites.
Herat lies near Afghanistan's border with Iran and is considered one of the safer cities in the country. In September 2013, Taliban gunmen launched a similar assault on the U.S. Consulate in the city, killing at least four Afghans but failing to enter the compound or hurt any Americans.
Foreign embassies and consulates remain a favorite target of insurgents in Afghanistan, but many are protected by high walls and multiple gates, as well as security forces.
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Gunmen attack Indian Consulate in western Afghanistan province of Herat; diplomats safe