View source for 2014 attack on Indian consulate in Herat

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title         = 2014 Attack on Indian Consulate in Herat
| partof        = [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)]]
| image         = Herat in Afghanistan.svg
| caption       = Location of Herat Province in Afghanistan
| location      = [[Herat]], [[Afghanistan]]
| target        = Indian consulate 
| coordinates   =
| date          = 23 May 2014
| time          = 3:15 a.m.
| timezone      = 
| type          = 
| fatalities    = 4 attackers
| injuries      = 2+
| victim        =
| weapons       = assault rifles
| perps         =[[Lashkar-e-Taiba]]<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/let-responsible-for-attack-at-indian-consulate-in-herat-us/article6151009.ece LeT responsible for attack at Indian consulate in Herat: US]</ref>
}}

The Indian consulate in [[Herat]], [[Afghanistan]] was attacked on 23 May 2014 by four heavily armed militants, three days before the [[First swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi|inaugural ceremony]] of [[Narendra Modi]] as the Prime Minister of India.

==The attack==
The Indian consulate in [[Herat]], [[Afghanistan]] was attacked around 3:15&nbsp;a.m. on 23 May 2014 by four heavily armed militants. The attackers were armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and suicide vests. They opened fire from a nearby home. All the attackers were killed during a lengthy gun battle, two by the [[Indo-Tibetan Border Police]] (ITBP) and others by the Afghan security forces.<ref>{{cite news|author=IANS|title=Indian Consulate in Afghanistan attacked, 4 gunmen killed|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/indian-consulate-in-afghanistan-attacked-4-gunmen-killed/article6039939.ece?homepage=true|access-date=23 May 2014|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=23 May 2014}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/23/indian-consulate-attacked-in-afghanistan Indian consulate attacked in Afghanistan], The Guardian, 23 May 2014.</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-27533268 Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan attacked], BBC News, 23 May 2014.</ref>

No one in the consulate's staff was injured. A squad of 23 ITBP personnel was guarding the consulate.<ref>{{cite news|title=Attack on Indian consulate in Afghanistan's Herat thwarted, all gunmen killed|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/indian-consulate-in-afghanistan-s-herat-attacked-by-unknown-gunmen/article1-1221993.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523200745/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/indian-consulate-in-afghanistan-s-herat-attacked-by-unknown-gunmen/article1-1221993.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 May 2014|access-date=23 May 2014|newspaper=Hindustan Times|date=23 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Arora|first=Kamna|title=Indian consulate in Afghanistan attacked: Four gunmen killed, Hamid Karzai calls Narendra Modi|url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/indian-consulate-in-afghanistan-attacked-four-gunmen-killed-hamid-karzai-calls-narendra-modi_934202.html|access-date=23 May 2014|newspaper=Zee news|date=23 May 2014}}</ref> The consulate, located in central Herat, enjoys extensive protection comparable only to the [[2013 attack on U.S. consulate in Herat|U.S. consulate]] in the city. It has at least three layers of security, and visitors must walk 200 m to reach it as the road leading to it is barricaded.<ref>{{cite news|title=Why Was India's Herat Consulate Attacked?|url=https://thediplomat.com/2014/05/why-was-indias-herat-consulate-attacked/|access-date=24 May 2014|newspaper=The Diplomat|date=24 May 2014}}</ref>

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.<ref>{{cite news|title=Indian consulate attacked in Afghanistan's Herat|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Indian-consulate-attacked-in-Afghanistans-Herat/articleshow/35498871.cms|access-date=23 May 2014|newspaper=The Times of India|date=23 May 2014}}</ref>

==Analysis==
On 25 May, the Afghan president [[Hamid Karzai]] informed Indian media that the [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] (LeT), a Pakistani terrorist organisation with links to the Pakistani intelligence agency [[Inter-Services Intelligence|ISI]], was responsible for the attack. Indian security agencies also agreed with the assessment. In June, the US State Department came out with its own assessment that the LeT was responsible for the attacks and redesignated LeT as a terrorist organisation.<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/let-responsible-for-attack-at-indian-consulate-in-herat-us/article6151009.ece LeT responsible for attack at Indian consulate in Herat: US], The Hindu, 26 June 2014.</ref> After a symbolic ban by President Musharraf, the LeT had renamed itself ''Jamat ud Dawa'' and begun posing as a charity.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/10928363/Pakistani-charity-is-a-terror-front-which-attacked-Indian-consulate-says-US.html Pakistani charity is a terror front which attacked Indian consulate, says US], The Telegraph, 26 June 2014.</ref>

According to American South Asia analyst [[Bruce Riedel]], the LeT had planned to take Indian diplomats hostage and execute them just as Narendra Modi was taking office. Their goal was, according to Riedel, to discredit Pakistan's own Prime Minister [[Nawaz Sharif]], who was due to attend Modi's inaugural ceremony. This was meant to be payback to Sharif for having put the former army dictator [[Pervez Musharraf]] on trial for treason.<ref name=Riedel>[[Bruce Riedel]],  [https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/nuclear-pakistans-spies-target-india-and-their-own-prime-minister/ Nuclear Pakistan’s Spies Target India—and Their Own Prime Minister], The Daily Beast/Brookings Institution, 4 September 2014.</ref>

''[[The Diplomat]]'' reported a Pakistani security expert stating that the timing of the attack was related to the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi. There were said to be forces in Pakistan that were agitated about any bonhomie with the [[Bharatiya Janata Party|BJP]] leader as they see him as an enemy.<ref>[https://thediplomat.com/2014/05/whywasindiasheratconsulateattacked Why Was India's Herat Consulate Attacked?]{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, The Diplomat, 24 May 2014.</ref>

==Reactions==
Afghanistan's President [[Hamid Karzai]] spoke to India's [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister designate]] [[Narendra Modi]] after the attack and called it "an attack on Afghanistan, India and our shared interests".<ref>{{cite news|title=Gunmen attack Indian Consulate in Afghanistan|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/gunmen-attack-indian-consulate-afghanistan-0|access-date=24 May 2014|newspaper=Associated Press|date=23 May 2014}}</ref> [[Narendra Modi]] condemned the attack and assured support to Amar Sinha, the Indian ambassador to Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web|title=Narendra Modi condemns attack on Indian consulate in Herat|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/05/narendra-modi-condemns-attack-on-indian-consulate-in-herat/|work=IANS|publisher=news.biharprabha.com|access-date=23 May 2014}}</ref>

The [[Ministry of External Affairs (Sri Lanka)|External affairs ministry of Sri Lanka]] and [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Pakistan)|Foreign Affairs Ministry of Pakistan]] also condemned the attack.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sri Lanka and Pakistan condemn Attack on Indian Consulate in Herat|url=http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/05/sri-lanka-condemns-attack-on-indian-consulate-in-herat/|work=IANS|publisher=news.biharprabha.com|access-date=23 May 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[2013 Indian embassy attack]]
*[[2013 attack on U.S. consulate in Herat]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{War in Afghanistan}}
{{War on Terrorism}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian consulate 2014 Herat attack}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=Terrorist incidents in Afghanistan in 2014, History of Herat, Narendra Modi, Islamic terrorist incidents in 2014, Attacks in 2014, 2014 in international relations, May 2014 events in Asia, Afghanistan–India relations
|description=
}}

[[Category:Attacks on diplomatic missions in Afghanistan|Indian consulate in Herat]]
[[Category:Attacks on diplomatic missions of India|Herat Indian consulate]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Afghanistan in 2014]]
[[Category:History of Herat]]
[[Category:Narendra Modi]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2014]]
[[Category:Attacks in 2014]]
[[Category:2014 in international relations]]
[[Category:May 2014 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Afghanistan–India relations]]