Indian Consulate was attacked to avenge Afzal Guru's execution, say messages left by Afghan attackers

Kabul: Even as the Afghan security forces concluded their operation to sensitise the Indian Consulate in city of Mazar-e-Sharif, it has now come to fore that the three terrorists who had occupied a big house from where they targeted the Indian mission left two messages written in blood on the walls that their mission was to avenge the execution of Afzal Guru.

Afzal Guru, the J&K resident, was hanged to death in 2013 for his role in the December 13, 2000 attack on Parliament House in New Delhi.

 

Afghan security forces had killed the three attackers on Monday night after a 25-hour long siege.

One of the two messages written in blood read: “Afzal Guru ka inteqam (Afzal Guru is avenged)” and “Ek shaheed, hazaar fidayeen,” stated the other.

 

Although there is concrete information on the identities of these attackers or the organisation to which they were affiliated, it establishes a close link between the attack on Indian Consulate and Indian Air Force Base in Pathankot.

Importantly, the terrorists who were involved in the Pathankot attack had told Rajesh Verma, a Gurdaspur resident who was abducted by them, that they were going to storm the airbase to avenge the hanging of Afzal Guru.

The Pajhwok Afghan News service had posted photos of the messages that were scribbled in blood on walls that appeared to have been hit by bullets and shrapnel.

Security sources said the JeM’s affinity to Afzal Guru was understandable as he was convicted for the Parliament attack that was blamed on the group based at Bahawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

The Mazar-e-Sharif attacker were initially resisted by the ITBP personnel guarding the Indian Consulate after which the Afghan Special Forces launched a major assault and killed all of them late on Monday.

 

Eight Afghan security personnel were also injured in the operation and all staff of the Indian mission escaped unharmed.

The attack began late on Sunday after the terrorists tried to break into the consulate, taking advantage of the fact that many people were watching a football match between Afghanistan and India.

Afghan authorities have launched a probe to identify the attackers and provincial governor Atta Mohammad Noor blamed “enemies of peace and stability” for the attack.