- Title: Six killed in attack on German consulate in Afghan city - German FM Steinmeier
- Date: 11th November 2016
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (NOVEMBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER ARRIVING FOR STATEMENT CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, SAYING: "I am relieved that all the members of the German consulate, Germans and Afghans, are safe and unharmed, but whoever has seen the pictures of damages, damages caused by the bomb attack at first, won't be surprised by the sad news that people died during the attack and many were injured." CAMERAS STEINMEIER SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, SAYING: "My deeply felt sympathies goes out to the relatives of the victims, six have been confirmed so far. Our thoughts are with the many dead and injured, the injured I wish a quick recovery. I would like to especially thank the Afghan security forces and the units of 'resolute support', who quickly hurried to the rescue and who fought back the attack with great courage, highly professional and at the risk of their own life." STEINMEIER SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER, SAYING: "My explicit thanks goes also to the German armed forces and the German federal police, who played a decisive role in keeping the members of the consulate general unharmed. A crisis task force is meeting at the moment at the foreign ministry, which not only follows the developments since last night closely, but also coordinated all necessary measures from there." REPORTER TAKING NOTES STEINMEIER SPEAKING BOMB-PROOF SECURITY DOOR LEADING TO CRISIS TASK FORCE MEETING SIGN READING (German) 'CRISIS TASK FORCE CENTRE' VARIOUS OF CRISIS TASK FORCE MEETING UNDERWAY
- Embargoed: 26th November 2016 10:44
- Keywords: Afghanistan Steinmeier blast consulate Masar-i-Sharif attack
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA0015802I4N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday (November 11) said that at least six people were killed when a Taliban suicide bomber rammed a truck packed with explosives into a wall around the German consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday (November 10).
"I am relieved that all the members of the consulate general, Germans and Afghans, are safe and unharmed, but whoever has seen the pictures of damages, damages caused by the bomb attack at first, won't be surprised by the sad news that people died during the attack and many were injured," Steinmeier told reporters in Berlin.
The attack highlighted the security problems spreading across Afghanistan in recent months, underlining one of the most intractable foreign policy challenges that will face U.S. President-elect Donald Trump when he takes office next year.
A NATO spokesman said the explosion late on Thursday had caused "massive damage" to the building, shattering windows as much as 5 km (3 miles) away. Heavily armed attackers followed up the initial blast, battling with Afghan and German security forces late into the night before the attack was suppressed.
"My deeply felt sympathies goes out to the relatives of the victims, six have been confirmed so far. Our thoughts are with the many dead and injured, the injured I wish a quick recovery. I would like to especially thank the Afghan security forces and the units of 'resolute support', who quickly hurried to the rescue and who fought back the attack with great courage, highly professional and at the risk of their own life," Steinmeier said.
"My explicit thanks goes also to the German armed forces and the German federal police, who played a decisive role in keeping the members of the consulate general unharmed," he added, "A crisis task force is meeting at the moment at the foreign ministry, which not only follows the developments since last night closely, but also coordinated all necessary measures from there."
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation for NATO air strikes against a village near the northern city of Kunduz last week in which more than 30 people were killed.
The Islamist movement's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said by telephone that heavily armed fighters, including suicide bombers, had been sent "with a mission to destroy the German consulate general and kill whoever they found there".
Germany, which heads the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in northern Afghanistan, has about 850 soldiers at a base on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif, with another 1,000 troops coming from 20 partner countries. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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