The German Consulate-General in Mazar‑e‑Sharif in northern Afghanistan was attacked by heavily armed terrorists last night.

It was only possible to repel and force back the assailants following fighting, which also took place on the grounds and in the building of the Consulate-General. Consulate-General security staff, Afghan security forces, and German, Georgian, Belgian and Latvian special forces from the Resolute Support mission were involved in the fighting.

I have just been able to speak with the acting Consul-General. I thanked him and his whole team for the staff members’ good and dedicated endeavours on behalf of Afghanistan.

I told him, and I say it again here, that I am relieved that all Consulate-General staff members – Germans and Afghans – are safe and unharmed. But anyone who has seen the photos of the destruction caused by the bomb attack cannot be surprised by the sad news that the attack claimed lives and injured a large number of people.

I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims. Six fatalities have been confirmed so far. Our thoughts are with the many people killed and injured. I wish those injured a speedy recovery.

I would particularly like to thank the Afghan security forces and the Resolute Support forces, who rushed to help and thwarted the attack with great courage and professionalism, putting their own lives at risk.

I am also extremely grateful to the Federal Armed Forces and Federal Police who played a crucial role yesterday in ensuring that no member of the Consulate-General was harmed.

A crisis unit, which has been following the situation very closely since last night and has also coordinated all of the necessary measures, is meeting again in the Federal Foreign Office at the moment.