Afghan provincial governor wields gun to save Indian consulate at Mazar-i-Sharif

Kabul, Jan 5: Governor of Afghanistan's Balkh province Ata Mohammad Noor on Monday wielded the gun to protect the Indian consulate at Mazar-i-Sharif after it was attacked last night by heavily-armed militants who tried to storm in.

In pictures posted on the governor's Facebook page that have gone viral, Noor, a former Mujahideen, is seen holding an assault rifle and aiming to take shots and also interacting with the soldiers outside the Indian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of his province.

Indian ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha tweeted "Clearing ops (operations) in Mazar on by special forces. Heavy fighting going on. GOV (Governor) Atta personally monitoring. All safe in consulate."

He also retweeted a message by a journalist which said, "A friend in need ..Meet the Afg (Afghan) guv (governor) who took up arms to protect Indian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif".

Noor is a former Mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and is trained in combat. He has also served as a commander in Ahmad Shah Masood's Norther Alliance - the resistance against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

The siege near the consulate finally ended late on Monday night when all the militants were killed.

PTI