Blasts, gunfire as militants attack Indian consulate in Afghan city

Explosions and gunfire echoed Wednesday as militants attacked the Indian consulate in Jalalabad in the latest assault to rattle the eastern Afghan city.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the ongoing assault and no fatalities were immediately reported.

 "Our consulate has been targeted but everyone is safe," Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup told AFP in New Delhi.

Witnesses said they saw several injured people after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the consulate, followed by other explosions and gunfire.

The area, also home to other diplomatic missions, has repeatedly come under attack in recent months.

In January Islamic State jihadists claimed responsibility for a deadly gun and bomb siege of the nearby Pakistani consulate in Jalalabad, the first major attack by the group in an Afghan city.

Wednesday's attack came as US army general John Nicholson formally took command of NATO-led international forces in Afghanistan, replacing General John Campbell. 

"There is still much work to be done. We now find ourselves at an inflection point in our campaign," Campbell told reporters in Kabul.

"(Afghan security forces) have come far but they still need our help. (Their) desire to improve and their resilience warrants our continued support in the critical years ahead."

Direct peace talks are expected to start this week in Islamabad between the Western-backed Afghan government and the Taliban, which has been waging a deadly insurgency for more than 14 years.

Delegates from Afghanistan, China, the US and Pakistan recently met in Kabul for a fourth round of talks aimed at paving the way for the nascent peace process.

But the Taliban have stepped up nationwide attacks in an apparent attempt to gain leverage before the planned negotiations.

Nangarhar, of which Jalalabad is the capital, also faces an emerging threat from loyalists of the Islamic State group, which controls territory across Syria and Iraq and is making gradual inroads in Afghanistan -- challenging the Taliban on their own turf.

The jihadists have managed to attract disaffected Taliban fighters increasingly lured by the group's signature brutality.

Wednesday's assault was reminiscent of a 25-hour gun and bomb siege near the Indian consulate in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in January.

India has been a key supporter of Kabul's post-Taliban government, and analysts have often pointed to the threat of a "proxy war" in Afghanistan between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan -- the historic backer of the Taliban -- has long been accused of assisting the insurgents, especially with attacks on Indian targets in Afghanistan.

The violence tearing the country apart is having a devastating impact on Afghan civilians.

A recent UN report highlighted more than 11,000 civilian casualties in 2015 including 3,545 deaths, a new record since 2009 when the agency began tabulating the statistics.