JALALABAD: At least nine persons were killed and 20 others injured after a suicide bombers detonated an explosives-packed car near the Indian consulate in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Saturday, police said.
“A car containing explosives hit a barrier near the consulate and detonated,” Ahmadzia Abdulzai, Nangarhar province spokesman, said. Gunfire was reported in the area around the consulate for an hour after the initial blast.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Taliban militants immediately denied any responsibility for the attack, which rocked the city and left several houses, tailors and other nearby shops badly damaged.
“Our fighters have not carried out any attack in Jalalabad,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a foreign news agency.
“We do not claim the responsibility for this attack,” Mujahid said.
