aljazeeranews-Taliban attack US consulate in Afghanistan

Two police and four attackers reported killed after car bomb and gun attack near US compound in city of Herat.

At least three people and have been killed and 17 others injured in an apparent Taliban attack on the United States consulate in Herat, Afghanistan.
The attack began at about 6am local time (2am GMT) on Friday with a powerful car bomb explosion about 60m from the consulate compound, said Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi, the governor of Herat province.
Loud explosions followed by gunfire were heard and a plume of thick smoke was seen rising over the city, in the west of Afghanistan.
Other fighters then began firing on security forces in the area. Two policemen and a consulate security guard were reported killed and 17 others - including four women and two other police - were injured.
The AP news agency said the Taliban claimed it had carried out the assault. Local reports said there were five attackers, four of whom were killed or detonated suicide bombs.
NATO's ISAF force later said on Twitter that it had secured the consulate and security forces had defeated the attackers.
Herat, on the border with Iran, has been relatively peaceful since the removal of the Taliban by US-led forces in 2001.
Italian soldiers took charge of the regional command of ISAF on September 10.