ISI behind Taliban attack on Indian consulate?

Bill Weinberg

Persistent claims that Afghanistan’s Taliban are backed by ISI, the Pakistani intelligence service, will certainly be enflamed by the Aug. 3 attack on the Indian consulate in Jalalabad. Nine were killed and some 25 wounded in the coordinated suicide blast and armed assault. No Indian officials were killed, though the blast badly damaged a mosque and dozens of homes and small shops nearby. (Reuters, Aug. 3) A story in India Today on the same day as the attacks claimed that Delhi had warned its ambassador in Kabul, Amar Sinha, of a Pakistan-based  plot to assassinate him in a suicide attack, and recommended he beef up security measures. Sepcial commandos from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), already guarding the embassy in Kabul, were to be deployed to the consulates in Kandahar, Heart, Mazar and Jalalabad. Apparently, just too late…

Note that India’s embassy in Kabul was attacked in July 2008 and October 2009.

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  1. Taliban launch suicide assault on US consulate in Herat

    The Taliban launched an early morning suicide assault Sept. 13 on the US consulate in the western Afghan city of Herat. The attack is the latest in a series of suicide assaults and bombings that have taken place throughout Afghanistan over the past three weeks.

    The attack began around 6 AM when a van pulled up outside the main gate of the consulate and the suicide bomber detonated his explosives. Six heavily armed Taliban fighters said to be dressed in Afghan military uniforms then entered the security perimeter and engaged Afghan security personnel. One of them is thought to have detonated his vest.

    Two Afghan security personnel and all seven members of the assault team are reported to have been killed after more than an hour of fighting. The main gate of the consulate was badly damaged in the explosion and windows of the building shattered. (Long War Journal)

  2. Attack on Indian consulate in Herat

    Authorities say three gunmen opened fire with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades on the Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, on May 23. One of the assailants was killed, and the other two fled into a nearby building. The area is now surrounded by security forces. (BBC)