Taliban attack US consulate in Afghanistan

At least seven people were killed when insurgents attacked the U.S. consulate in western Afghanistan’s main city on Friday, detonating a powerful truck bomb outside the front gates and launching a gunbattle with security forces, officials said.

Taliban militants attacked the U.S. consulate in western Afghanistan on Friday morning, using a car bomb and guns to battle security forces just outside the compound in the city of Herat.

Officials say the militants attacked the consulate in Herat Friday morning with a suicide car bomb and engaged in a gunfight with security forces in the area. 

“All consulate personnel are safe and accounted for,” a US Embassy spokesman told AP news agency.

It is the latest in a series of attacks ahead of the withdrawal of foreign combat troops from Afghanistan in 2014.

Herat, close to the Iranian border, has been relatively peaceful in recent years.

Earlier this month Taliban targeted the Torkham US base in eastern Afghanistan, sparking a lengthy gun battle in which three insurgents were killed.

Militant attacks have escalated in recent weeks, a surge that comes as U.S.-led foreign troops reduce their presence in Afghanistan ahead of a full withdrawal by the end of next year.

Source: THE TIMES OF EARTH AND Agencies