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. 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. He said all the Indians at the consulate were safe.
Gunmen attack Indian Consulate in Afghanistan
The Associated Press carried a quote by Gateway House's Sameer Patil, Associate Fellow, National Security, Ethnic Conflict and Terrorism analysing the attacks on the Indian Consulate in Afghanistan