Taliban militants have attacked the U.S. consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat. NATO officials said international and Afghan security forces repelled the assault and the compound was secure. It was early Friday morning when Afghan militants drove a vehicle loaded with explosives into the walls around the U.S. consulate in Heart, on the border with Iran. A portion of the front walls shattered, militants then entered the compound and started shooting. Eyewitnesses said the explosion rocked the walls in nearby buildings. Security forces returned fire on the attackers in a gunfight that left at least two police and the attackers dead, and more than a dozen wounded. The U.S. State Department said there were no American casualties. Mohammad Sharif, a security guard for a private Afghan security company, was wounded in the attack. Speaking from the hospital in Herat, he said there were two blasts. He said, he was fine after the first explosion, and was making a phone call, when there was a second explosion just as he was going out to hand duties to the guard at the front gate. He said there were six to 12 guards there at the time, all colleagues. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said at dawn a truck carrying a number of attackers drove to the front gate of the compound while firing on Afghan forces protecting the area. Then, the entire truck exploded, damaging the gate area. #λÐηαи
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 15:07:23 +0000
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