Nine Afghan civilians were killed and 21 others wounded in a suicide attack near the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad city bordering Pakistan today. Other reports have put the death toll at 12 and injured at 24. The daed include several children who were passing by to attend a madrasa inside the mosque. All the three attackers were also killed either during the blast or in firing by Afghan security forces.

There have been no major damage to the Indian Consulate and all its officials are safe. However some window panes of the Consulate building were shattered with the impact of powerful blast.

Afghan Interior ministry in a statement issued in Kabul said, the suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle close to the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad, the capital city of Nangarhar province of Afghanistan this morning. Reports said that the attackers were trying to move towards the Indian consulate but could not proceed further as there was barricade near the mosque.

India has condemned the suicide attacks on the Indian Consulate General in Jalalabad, Afghanistan in the strongest possible terms. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, the attack has once again highlighted that the main threat to Afghanistan’s security and stability stems from terrorism and the terror machine that continues to operate from beyond its borders. He said, India will not be deterred from its commitment to assist Afghanistan in its reconstruction and development efforts.