In the early hours of Friday morning (6 a.m. local time, 2 a.m. GMT), Taliban militants attacked the US consulate in Herat, which is in western Afghanistan. Reports of casualties vary. Deutsche Welle says four Taliban insurgents were killed in the attack while Iranian-based Press TV reports three Afghan police officers died in the attack, putting the numbers of those injured at 18. The Guardian puts the number of fatalities at seven, reporting an Afghan police source quoting two Afghan security forces dead, along with five Taliban assailants.
The consulate was secured after a suicide car bomb exploded outside the facility. Confirming the situation on the ground, a later report carried by BBC News reports the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) tweeted at 4 a.m. GMT that the US consulate was secure "with all enemy forces being killed".
After the early morning car bombing today, a gun battle ensued between Taliban fighters and security forces stationed at the US consulate. According to US State Department Spokeswoman Marie Harf, the battle ended but details of what took place were sketchy.
Harf said, "Full details are not known of the extent of the attack at this point, but the attack is currently over," adding, "there are no American casualties."
As further information emerged, Harf later told BBC News: "A truck carrying attackers drove to the front gate, and attackers, possibly firing rocket propelled grenades and assault rifles, commenced attacking Afghan Protective forces on the exterior of the gates. Shortly after, the entire truck exploded, extensively damaging the front gate [to the consulate]."
Bütün xəbərlər Facebook səhifəmizdə
USD
EUR
GBP
RUB