Even as the operation against terrorists at the Pathankot airbase continued on Sunday, the Indian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan came under attack from four armed terrorists. The terrorists were still engaged in heavy gunbattle with the Special forces of the Afghanistan police. As per latest report available at 4 am on Monday, two of them were hiding in the adjacent building and special forces were trying to break into the main entrance with the help of armoured vehicle. The Indian consulate building continued to receive splinters, as the terrorists were firing from RPGs.
The commandos of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force, which guards the consulate building, were the first to engage with the terrorists for almost an hour and were able to thwart the attack.
DG ITBP Krishna Chowdhury told The Hindu : “Our men engaged with the terrorists and managed to stop them before they could inflict any damage.
The Afghan National Police had reached the consulate building by then and took over after that.”
The officer added that the firing was directed at the consulate from an adjacent building and there were at least four armed men. Two of them were reported to have been killed.
At 10.27 p.m. a rocket-propelled grenade was fired, which hit Alamas hall, a wedding venue near the consulate building, which also houses the residence of Noorulah, deputy to the Vice-President of Afghanistan.
