The 3 January attack on the Indian consulate in Afghanistan's Mazar-i-Sharif city was carried out by Pakistan military personnel, Afghan police said.
"We saw with our own eyes and I can say 99 percent that those attackers were from Pakistani military and used special tactics while conducting their operation," Afghan's Tolo News quoted Balkh police chief Sayed Kamal Sadat as saying.
"The attackers were military personnel. They were educated and well prepared and had intelligence. They fought us and only by Allah's grace were we able to control them and eliminate them," Sadat added.
A group of four terrorists had attacked the Indian mission in Mazar-i-Sharif on the night of 3 January in an attempt to enter the complex. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel posted at the consulate, however, prevented the attackers to go ahead with their plan.
The attackers later hid in a building opposite the Indian consulate and engaged in firing with the Afghan security forces. All the four terrorists were later killed by Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) personnel.
One Afghan security personnel was killed and nine others, including three civilians, were injured in the standoff that lasted for about 25 hours, IANS reported.
Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokersperson Vikas Swarup had said the terrorists launched the attack with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and other weapons.
The Afghan police have been trying to track down and identify those who helped the attackers enter the building located near the consulate.
"We are jointly working with the NDS director and have spoken about this – especially as they came here not able to speak in Dari or Pashtu but speaking in Urdu. It means obviously there is someone who guided those attackers and helped the attackers," Sadat said.
