US consulate in Peshawar attacked by Pakistan Taliban
A coordinated attack Monday on the US Consulate in Peshawar left at least six dead, including four Pakistani Taliban militants. No Americans were killed in the attack.
Smoke rises after an explosion near the US Consulate, unseen, in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Monday. Islamist militants attacked the consulate in northwest Pakistan with car bombs and grenades Monday. Eight people, including three Pakistani Taliban militants, were killed.
Mohammad Sajjad/AP
Lahore, Pakistan
Three powerful blasts rocked the north-western Pakistan city of Peshawar on Monday, in a coordinated attack on the US Consulate.
Six people including four Pakistani Taliban militants were killed, said Bashir Ahmed Bilour, senior minister in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). No Americans at the US Consulate were hurt, according to Reuters.
Resident Siraj Afridi said that a group of attackers carrying rocket-propelled grenades opened fire at security personnel before the blasts went off. The three blasts were reported to have occurred within a 20-minute period.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. “We accept the attacks on the American consulate. This is revenge for drone attacks,” spokesman Azam Tariq told Agence France-Presse.
“We will carry out more such attacks. We will target any place where there are Americans,” he added.
Uptick in US drone attacks
US drone attacks have intensified in the North Waziristan tribal agency since December, killing more than 100 militants so far this year and hampering their ability to roam freely.
The Pakistan Army is also in the midst of a major operation to clear out militants from the Orakzai tribal agency that borders Peshawar.
Pakistani television channels showed a mushroom cloud rising into the sky while military helicopters circled over the US Consulate building in the aftermath.
The US Embassy in Islamabad issued a statement confirming the attack: "The coordinated attack involved a vehicle suicide bomb and terrorists attempting to enter the building using grenades and weapons fire." It said that at least two of its Pakistani guards were killed and several wounded.
