05 January 2016•Update: 05 January 2016
KABUL, Afghanistan
Afghan security forces have ended a 25-hour siege of the Indian consulate in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif after all the attackers were killed early Tuesday morning, according to Afghan officials.
Provincial police department spokesman Shir Jan Durani said all the attackers had been killed and all Indian diplomats were safe.
"One security officer was killed and nine others were wounded [during the siege]," Durani told Anadolu Agency by phone.
He added that at least three civilians had been injured when the attackers opened fire on a nearby wedding hall with rocket propelled grenades.
On Sunday evening, at least four gunmen holed up in a nearby building targeted the mission, which is located in Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province, with light and heavy weapons.
In a related development on Tuesday morning, a bomb placed in a garbage bin went off near the Indian consulate in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.
According to provincial officials, the blast did not result in any casualties.
Amar Sinha, India’s ambassador in Kabul, later tweeted that all consulate staff were safe.
No militant groups, including the Taliban, have yet claimed responsibility for either attack.
According to Afghan officials, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani by phone to discuss the latest developments.
Speaking via Twitter, Modi praised "the exemplary bravery & courage of Afghan National Security Forces in thwarting terrorist attack in Mazar-e-Sharif".
The operation to end the siege in Mazar-e-Sharif involved the use by Afghan security forces of helicopters, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns.
Balkh, which shares a border with Uzbekistan, is among northern Afghanistan’s more peaceful provinces, in which terrorist incidents are rarely reported.
