Three killed and 19 hurt after two-hour assault in Afghan city

In ruins: A policeman inspecting the site of a blast near the Indian consulate in Jalalabad. — Reuters

JALALABAD: Gunfire and an explosion echoed as militants attacked India’s consulate in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, killing three people in the latest in a string of assaults on Indian installations in the country.

No group has so far claimed the brazen attack, which coincided with a Nato change-of-command ceremony that saw US army general John Nicholson take charge of international troops in Afghanistan.

Indian diplomats were not hurt, the foreign ministry in New Delhi said, after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the consulate’s entrance and four other attackers breached the compound.

“All four of them were killed by our security forces,” government spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said after the two-hour assault ended.

“Three others – two civilians and one policeman – were killed and 19 other people were left wounded.”

The powerful explosion sent a column of smoke rising in the sky and blew out windows of nearby buildings, as Afghan troops hauled away bodies from the area littered with charred debris.

The attack highlights the worsening security situation in Afghanistan as Taliban insurgents step up nationwide attacks and Islamic State militants make inroads in the volatile east.

“There is still much work to be done. We now find ourselves at an inflection point in our campaign,” outgoing Nato commander General John Campbell said in Kabul.

“(Afghan security forces) have come far but they still need our help. (Their) desire to improve and their resilience warrants our continued support in the critical years ahead.”

Yesterday’s assault was reminiscent of a 25-hour gun and bomb siege near the Indian consulate in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in January.

India has been a key supporter of Kabul’s post-Taliban government, and analysts have often pointed to the threat of a “proxy war” in Afghanistan between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan – the historic backer of the Taliban – has long been accused of assisting the insurgents, especially with attacks on Indian targets in Afghanistan, but denies the claims.

Direct peace talks are expected to start this week in Islamabad between the Western-backed Afghan government and the Taliban, which has been waging a deadly insurgency for more than 14 years.

Delegates from Afghanistan, China, the United States and Pakistan recently met in Kabul for a fourth round of talks aimed at paving the way for the nascent peace process.

But the Taliban have intensified their insurgency in an apparent attempt to gain leverage before the planned negotiations. — AFP