Day after attack, security tightened at Indian consulate in Jalalabad

Additional Afghan forces have been deployed around the Indian consulate which was attacked on Wednesday in Jalalabad city of Afghanistan by heavily-armed terrorists including suicide bombers.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said that senior officials of both the National Directorate of Security and the Afghan National Police visited the consulate to reassure its officials of their complete cooperation.

"Our consulate in Jalalabad came under attack on Wednesday by a group of five terrorists at 12 noon. The attackers approached the consulate in a van rigged with explosives.

"No member of the consulate was injured except superficial injuries in right hand of one of the local staff members. Three persons reportedly died in the attack. The NDS reported that 19 persons were injured, mostly Afghan national police guards, two of whom have serious injuries," Swarup said.

He also said that additional forces, both from the ANP and the NDS, have been deployed around the consulate. Electricity lines that were knocked out due to an explosion were repaired and power was restored on priority, he added.

Once the encounter was over, ANP chief of Nangarhar General Fazal Ahmad Sherzad, NDS Chief General Dad Mohammad Harifi, Governor Salim Khan Kundozi and ANCOP Chief Colonel Mohammad Naseem visited the consulate to reassure its officials of their complete cooperation, he added.

Wednesday's attack was fourth in a series of terror strikes on the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad in the last nine years. It was attacked twice with hand grenades in 2007 and in 2013 and then by three suicide bombers. In 2015, an attack on it was thwarted by the Afghan security forces.

Two months ago, heavily-armed terrorists had carried out an attack on Indian mission in Mazar-e-Sharif which lasted for over 24 hours with all the attackers who attempted to storm the building getting killed by the Afghan forces.

Soon after that in January, Islamic State jihadists claimed responsibility for a deadly gun and bomb siege targeting the nearby Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad.