Afghan Ambassador to Tajikistan Reportedly Wounded in Attack on German Consulate

Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan is among the people wounded in two blasts that hit the German consulate in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghan media report.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The news came from Pajhwok Afghan news agency on Friday.

"Afghan Ambassador to Tajikistan among wounded in people in last night suicide attack on #German Consulate in #Balkh province," the agency tweeted.

On Thursday, regional police confirmed that there was a suicide car bomb attack and a separate explosion inside the Mazar Hotel in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif that has been used as a consulate by German diplomats.

Later, the German Foreign Ministry informed on Twitter that fighting, which erupted at the location following the blasts, was over.

According to German media reports, at least four people were killed and over 100 others were injured in the attack.

The Taliban said it carried out the Thursday attack, reportedly in retaliation for NATO airstrikes that were carried out in Kunduz last week.

The city of Mazar-i-Sharif is the third largest in Afghanistan and hosts a NATO base. Tajikistan has four representations in Afghanistan, including a consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif.

Afghanistan is currently in a state of political and social turmoil, with government forces fighting the continuing Taliban insurgency. The instability has persisted in the country since the 2001 US-led invasion aimed at defeating the Taliban and al-Qaeda in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in the United States.