4 killed as Taliban militants attack German consulate in Afghan City

Taliban militants stormed the German consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, ramming its outer wall with a truck bomb before battling security forces in an overnight attack that killed at least four people, officials said. The explosion caused extensive damage to the building, a NATO spokesman said, but Germany indicated on Friday this would not deter it from continuing its work as part of the international mission in Afghanistan.Triggered by a suicide bomber, the blast shattered windows as far as 5 km (3 miles) away, NATO said. A local doctor said it and the subsequent firefight also wounded 120 people.

Twenty consular staff survived the attack with no injuries, German officials said. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said soldiers had had to battle hard to repel the heavily armed attackers.