KABUL: The UN Main Compound in the capital of West Herat Province Afghanistan was attacked by “anti-government elements” on Friday and at least one security guard was killed, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.
The attack, involving grenades and shots driven by rockets, occurred hours after the Taliban fighters penetrated deep into Herat City, and severe clashes with Afghan security forces would be near the Headquarters of the Province of UNAMA, officials said.
In a statement after the attack, the United Nations said it immediately tried to determine the full picture of the attack and come into contact with the relevant parties.
Not immediately clear who was attacking the complex, but Western security officials told Reuters all diplomatic compounds in the city were subject to high warnings.
Unama said the attack opposed the entrance complex which was clearly marked as the United Nations facility.
“The attack on the United Nations is sad and we condemn it in the strongest term,” said Deborah Lyons, a special representative of the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan.
Unama said no UN personnel were injured in the incident.
Herat City is the second capital city of the Taliban has been included in the last 24 hours.
Guerrillas entered the capital of the South Province Helmand the day before, and clashes were taking place there.
Civilians rush to evacuate the city.
“Since Thursday morning Taliban launched an attack from several directions in the city of Lashkargah,” said a government official to Reuters in anonymity.
Lashkargah is the capital city of Helmand, South Province bordering Pakistan.
With foreign troops led by US close to the full withdrawal of troops, the Taliban had made Swift territorial profits for the past two months but have not yet arrested the provincial capital.
A UN report this week said civilians had surged in recent weeks in Afghanistan, with many who were killed in May and June as in the previous four months.
The report did not cover victims in July when the battle was increasingly intensive.