Blast reported near Indian consulate in eastern Afghanistan’s Jalalabad

Baku. 5 January. REPORT.AZ/ An explosion was reported on Tuesday in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad close to foreign consulate buildings including those of India, Pakistan and Iran, Report informs referring Reuters, a spokesperson for the provincial governor said.

Attaullah Khugyani said there were no reports of casualties from the blast, which followed an attack on the Indian consulate in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Sunday. The target of the attack was not immediately clear and there was no claim of responsibility.

Special forces earlier ended the standoff with gunmen holed up near the Indian consulate in the country’s north and killed all the attackers after a 24-hour gunbattle.

The standoff began on Sunday night, when three gunmen tried to storm the consulate, then retreated into an adjacent, four-story building. Later, Afghan troops rappelled from helicopters onto the roof of the building to drive out the gunmen.