A branch of the Islamic State (ISIS) group claimed responsibility for an attack Wednesday on Pakistan’s Consulate in eastern Afghanistan that killed at least seven members of the Afghan security forces.
The attack in Jalalabad, the capital of the volatile Nangarhar province that borders Pakistan, started when a suicide
bomber detonated his explosives vest outside the diplomatic mission, said Attaullah Khyogani, spokesman for the province’s governor.
The explosion triggered a gunbattle between Afghan security forces and the militants. Along with the policemen killed, seven people were also wounded in the attack, Khyogani added.
He said all three attackers were killed, including the suicide bomber. The two gunmen, who later took positions in a guesthouse close to the consulate, were killed hours later, Khyogani said.
The US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant trafficking, said the affiliate known as the “Khorasan Province of the Islamic State” claimed three of its “soldiers” attacked the consulate and allegedly killed “dozens” of the mission’s staff.
Hazrat Hussein Mashraqiwal, the spokesman for the provincial police chief, said three police and two intelligence officers were among the killed and three civilians were among the wounded.
It was the first insurgent-style attack on a Pakistani diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, an official at the Pakistani Embassy said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The Pakistani Government properties have come under attack in the past during protests by Afghans angry at Islamabad’s perceived support for the Taliban, who have waged war on the Kabul administration for more than 14 years.
The scene of the attack is close to a hospital and schools as well as the Indian Consulate. The schools were evacuated, officials said.
The suicide bomber joined the visa queue before blowing himself up, officials said. All consular staff were quickly evacuated. In Islamabad, the
foreign affairs ministry condemned what it called “the terrorist attack” on its consulate and requested a thorough investigation.