Following the attack at a mosque in the Afghan city of Taloqan, which took the lives of Mohammad Omar, Governor of Kunduz Province, and numerous other Afghan civilians, Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle sent his condolences today (8 October) to Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Zalmay Rasoul. Minister Westerwelle’s message reads as follows:

”In recent days two tragic events have made painfully clear how closely tied our two countries are by our shared struggle against extremism and terrorism.

Yesterday we suffered the loss of a Bundeswehr soldier in an attack in Pol-e Khomri. Today we have received word of the cowardly attack that took the life of Mohammad Omar, Governor of Kunduz Province. Allow me to extend my condolences to you on behalf of the German Government.

The deaths of Governor Omar and the numerous other victims of today’s attack in Taloqan not only represent a heavy blow in loss of human lives. An attack on the representative of the Afghan state in Kunduz Province is also an attack on all that which we have protected and built together: an independent, safe and stable Afghanistan.

Germany stands beside you today as Afghanistan mourns its victims and continues on the path to reconciliation, undeterred by acts of brutal violence. Rest assured that Germany stands by the pledges we made at the Kabul Conference. We will continue our efforts to develop the Afghan army and police force as well as to further the country’s civilian reconstruction, especially in our area of responsibility in northern Afghanistan.“