Indian envoy was target of attack in AF

Indian envoy was target of attack in AF

FPJ BureauUpdated: Saturday, June 01, 2019, 01:44 AM IST
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Kabul/New Delhi : An overnight Taliban attack on a guest house in Kabul — in which 14 people, including four Indians, were killed — was ostensibly targeted at India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha, Afghan media reports said on Thursday.

A single gunman attacked Park Palace guesthouse in Kabul’s Kolola Pushta late Wednesday night where a musical concert was scheduled to be held. It is mostly visited by expats.

“Four Indians, including a lady, were killed in the attack,” an Indian embassy source said over telephone. The victims included two private auditors and an NGO worker.

An American, a British citizen and an Italian were also killed in the attack while the nationalities of two others who died could not be confirmed, according to a statement put out by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The counter-attack by Afghan security forces lasted seven hours and ended on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, Ghani’s special envoy for good governance Ahmad Zia Massoud told reporters that the militants attacked the guesthouse thinking that Indian envoy Sinha was present on the premises. Massoud visited the attack scene in Kabul late on Wednesday night and spoke to reporters there. However, an Indian embassy source said that the envoy was not present in the guest house when the attack took place. When asked whether he was scheduled to go there, Sinha told PTI, “I was invited for an event at the guesthouse which is visited by expats but I had not confirmed my attendance.”

“Terrorists do not recognise borders! Condolences to families of all killed, including two nationals of Pakistan, in the Kabul attack,” Ambassador Sinha later tweeted. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, which was part of their spring offensive. The group claimed that the casualties were much higher than the official figures.

Following the deadly attack, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday told Afghan President Ghani that both their nations were “one” in fighting terror.

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