Afghanistan: Gunfight outside Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif ends

Kabul/New Delhi, Jan 4: An intense 25-hour gun-battle between security forces and terrorists outside the Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif came to end tonight with the killing of all the attackers who attempted to storm the Mission building.

While three of the attackers were killed in the gunfight overnight, the remaining were neutralised by the night.

"Afghan officials have confirmed that the operation has ended," said a Indian government source.

"The clearance operation is over and all the terrorists have all been killed," said provincial police chief Sayed Kamal Sadat, according to AFP.

Some reports said one of the attackers was captured alive but there was no confirmation about it. A group of terrorists had attacked the Consulate at around 9.15 pm yesterday with an aim of storming the building but their plan was thwarted by the security forces.

Earlier, official sources said special combat units of the Afghan National Police had recovered three bodies from outside the Indian consulate.

Subsequently, some more terrorists were holed up in a five-storey building about 100 metres across the road from the Indian Consulate and security forces had launched a daunting onslaught to neutralise them.

PTI