The Indian Consulate in Afghanistan's Herat province was attacked this morning by heavily armed gunmen. An External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said in New Delhi that all staff of the Indian Consulate are safe. He said, an operation is underway by ITBP personnel and Afghan soldiers to repulse the attack. The spokesperson said, Indian and Afghan officials are in touch and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh is monitoring the situation.
Afghan police officials said, three gunmen armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades opened fire on the consulate early this morning from a nearby home. Police killed two of them, though one continued to fire on security forces. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
India has invested in some major infrastructure projects in Afghanistan like Salma hydroelectric dam in Herat province and the Afghan parliament building in Kabul. India's development assistance programme for Afghanistan currently stands at two billion dollars, making it the leading donor nation among all regional countries.