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6 dead, over 128 hurt in Taliban attack on German consulate in Afghanistan

Mazar-i-Sharif: At least six persons were killed, while over 128 others were injured in a powerful Taliban truck bombing at the German consulate in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif city.
The Taliban said the bombing late Thursday, which tore a massive crater in the road and overturned cars, was a “revenge attack” for US airstrikes this month in the volatile province of Kunduz that had left 32 civilians dead. 

The explosion, followed by sporadic gunfire, reverberated across the usually tranquil northern city, smashing windows of shops and leaving terrified residents fleeing for cover.

“The suicide attacker rammed his explosives-laden car into the wall of the German consulate,” said local police chief Sayed Kamal Sadat.

All German staff from the consulate were unharmed, according to the foreign ministry in Berlin. But four Afghan civilians and including two motorcyclists were killed. The motorcyclists were shot dead by German forces close to the consulate after they refused to heed their warning to stop, said deputy police chief Abdul Razaq Qadri. A suspect was also detained near the diplomatic mission on Friday, Qadri added.

Local doctor Noor Mohammad Fayez said the city hospitals had received six dead bodies, including two killed by bullets. At least 128 others were wounded, some critically and many with shrapnel injuries, he added. “The consulate building has been heavily damaged,” the German foreign ministry said in a statement. “Our sympathies go out to the Afghan injured and their families.” 

A diplomatic source in Berlin said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had convened a crisis meeting.

“There was fighting outside and on the grounds of the consulate,” a ministry spokesman said. “Afghan security forces and Resolute Support (NATO) forces from Camp Marmal (German base in Mazar-i-Sharif) are on the scene.” 

Afghan special forces have cordoned off the consulate, previously well-known as Mazar Hotel, as helicopters flew over the site and ambulances with wailing sirens rushed to the area after the explosion.

The carnage underscores worsening insecurity in Afghanistan as Taliban insurgents ramp up nationwide attacks despite repeated government attempts to jump-start stalled peace negotiations.
President-elect Donald Trump is set to inherit America’s longest war with no end 
in sight. 


Attack Unfolded
  • The foreign ministry in Berlin said all German staff from the consulate were unharmed
  • The consulate building was badly damaged in the attack
  • Police said a suspect had been detained
  • The Taliban said the bombing was a revenge attack for US airstrikes this month in Kunduz that had left 32 civilians dead
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