Four dead, two
civilians and two unidentified bodies, were brought to the Balkh hospital and
around 115 people were wounded, said Dr. Noor Mohammad Faiz.
"The
blast was too loud and powerful, which shattered windows, and many civilians
were wounded inside their homes," he said.
were wounded inside their homes," he said.
The car
exploded at the gate of the consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif city, destroying the
gate and wall around 11.10 p.m. Thursday, said Abdul Raziq Qaderi, head of security
for Balkh province.
"Police
have surrounded the area and our forces are inside the compound," he said.
Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital of Balkh province and one of the most important
cities in the country.
.
The Taliban
issued a statement saying they had sent suicide attackers to the consulate.
Many houses
and shops were destroyed or damaged, said Munir Ahmad Farhad, spokesman for the
provincial governor in Balkh. "The security situation is under control
right now, but locals are in fears of last night attack, there are many women
and children among those who wounded," Farhad said
The German
Foreign Ministry said in a statement there was an "armed attack" on
the consulate but didn't specify the nature of the attack or mention any
casualties.
The statement
said there had been fighting outside and on the grounds of the consulate and
that Afghan security forces and troops from the international Resolute Support
mission were at the scene.
Germany has
983 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, most of them in Balkh, as part of NATO's
Resolute Support mission.
The Taliban's
insurgency has spread from their southern heartland across the country in the
past two years.
The Taliban
statement from spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack was retaliation for
recent airstrikes in the northern city of Kunduz, capital of the province of
the same name.
A U.S.
airstrike earlier this month killed dozens of people, including women and
children, and is under investigation.
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