The Indian consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif has come under attack, with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades rocked the surrounding area.
With an unknown number of gunmen holed up in a house across the street from the consulate, special forces units on Sunday night prepared an operation to clear the attackers, police spokesman Shir Jan Durani said.
Two loud explosions and gunshots were heard earlier as the gunmen launched an attack from a nearby house, Muneer Ahmad Farhad, a spokesman for the Balkh province governor said.
Al Jazeera's Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said some casualties had been reported but initial details were scarce.
"It's not the first time an Indian diplomatic post has been attacked in Afghanistan. A couple of years ago, the Indian embassy in Kabul was attacked," he said.
Farhad said the attackers had hidden in a house near the consulate and struck after darkness fell.
He said the attackers had tried to enter the consulate but had not been able to and had shut themselves into a house across the street.
All Indian consular staff were safe, the Indian consul-general confirmed.
Sunday's attack came as Indian security forces were still trying to suppress an assault on an air base near the border with Pakistan that has killed at least seven military personnel and wounded 20 others.
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