The Indian Consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif came under attack late on Sunday night after two unidentified gunmen tried to storm into the Indian diplomatic mission. According to sources, both the gunmen who launched the attack have been killed.
Assailants holed up in a building close to the consulate traded heavy fire with Afghan forces who cordoned off the street following a series of explosions, officials said. The Indian forces at the consulate retaliated and the firing lasted for about 20 minutes.
An Indian official has confirmed that all consulate personnel are safe. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup also said that no Indian casualties had been reported so far.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the raid on the consulate in the northern Afghan city, the latest assault on an Indian installation in the country.
The incident comes a day after the Pathankot airbase in Punjab was attacked by Jaish-e-mohammad terrorists. Seven soldiers and six attackers were killed in the assault. Jaish-e-Mohammed is the group that also staged the 2001 attack on Parliament
The attacks threaten to derail Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bold diplomatic outreach to arch-rival Pakistan following his first official visit to Afghanistan. Both the incidents have taken place just a week after Modi paid a surprise visit to Pakistan, the first by an Indian premier in 11 years.
The visit immediately followed a whirlwind tour of Kabul, where Modi inaugurated an Indian-built Parliament complex and gifted three Russian-made helicopters to the Afghan government.
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.
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