KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) — A huge explosion rocked the area near the U.S. Consulate in the Afghanistan’s Herat province early Friday during a heavy gunfight between militants and security forces, officials said.
The attack occurred just before 6 a.m. when a truck carrying attackers sped towards the front gate of the consulate, said Marie Harf, a deputy State Department spokeswoman. The attackers fired assault rifles starting a gun battle with Afghan security forces. During the battle, the truck exploded, Harf said, causing major damage to the front gate of the consulate.
American consulate personnel took shelter in safe havens while U.S. security forces responded to the attack, Harf said. There were no U.S. casualties.
“Full details are not known of the extent of the attack at this point, but the attack is currently over,” Harf said.
Nine injured people were taken to a Herat hospital, according hospital official Mohammad Rafiq Sherzad.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail to CNN.
From Elise Labott and Masoud Popalzai
