Firefight at U.S. Consulate in Western Afghanistan.

Firefight at U.S. Consulate in Western Afghanistan.

Afghan security forces carried a wounded police officer on
Friday during an attack on the American Consulate in Herat.

KABUL | Afghanistan  | 14 Sep 2013 ::  An attack in the western city of Herat that killed seven people and wounded 20 on Friday morning underscored the continued fragility of the security situation in the country, even in pockets of Afghanistan long considered peaceful.

The attack began around 5:30 a.m. when a group of five suicide bombers detonated a van full of explosives near the auxiliary gate of the American Consulate, according to the office of the governor of Herat Province. As many as 20 civilians in the area were also sent to hospitals for treatment, said Sayed Wahid Qattali, the head of the provincial council.

After the explosion, which shattered the glass of the consulate building and structures in the surrounding area, attackers mounted an assault on the consulate. An hourlong firefight resulted in the deaths of several insurgents, who were unable to breach the gate, according to provincial and police officials. American security personnel helped fight off attackers who tried to enter the compound, according to a statement from the State Department.

The dead included two security guards. The American ambassador to Afghanistan condemned the attack, expressing sadness for the loss of life and the toll suffered by Afghan contract workers at the consulate and civilians swept up in the attack.“We are reminded again of the very real human toll exacted by terrorism,” Ambassador James B. Cunningham said in a statement. “The perpetrators of this attack have shed Afghan blood on Afghan soil.”

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault.

The last few months have been especially violent ones in Herat, an area long known for its rich history and, until recently, its relative stability.

In July, the brother of Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Afghanistan’s national security chief, was fatally shot in a district that neighbors the city of Herat, the provincial capital. In mid-August, insurgents killed nine construction workers and one police officer just outside the capital. Days later, militants executed six government engineers working on a road project in the province. And just last week, violent protests outside the Iranian Consulate in the provincial capital resulted in the fatal shooting of one protester and the wounding of two others.(Courtesy:The New York Times)

Firing kills four in Quetta: police.

A Google Maps image showing the location
 of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province

QUETTA | SYED ALI SHAH | 15 Jul 2013 ::  At least four people were killed Monday evening when armed men opened fire at a vehicle in Quetta, the capital of insurgency-hit Balochistan province.

Fayyaz Sumbal, the Deputy Inspector General Police, said four militants opened fire at the vehicle on Masjid road area of Quetta.

All four men sitting in the vehicle were seriously wounded and succumbed to their injuries on their way to the Combined Military Hospital, he said.

The attackers managed to escape after the attack, he added

Police said the victims belonged to the ethnic Hazara community and were attacked when they were shutting down their shop.

A large number of police and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel cordoned off the area and started investigation into the incident.(Courtesy:Dawn)