"The German colleague asked to give his sincere gratitude to our soldiers who defended the German consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif against the Taliban attack. I am proud!" tweeted Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics.
Vācijas kolēģis lūdza nodot sirsnīgu paldies mūsu karavīriem, kuri nosargāja Vācijas konsulātu Mazarišarīfā no talibu uzbrukuma. Lepojos!
— Edgars Rinkēvičs (@edgarsrinkevics) November 14, 2016
Latvia participates in the NATO-led training operation Resolute Support in Afghanistan with several dozen soldiers.
Kaspars Galkins, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, confirmed to LETA that three close air support controllers from Latvia were involved in repelling the attack on the consulate. None of the Latvians was hurt in the attack, the Defense Ministry's spokesman said, adding that this is a normal practice for allies to come to each other's assistance in such emergencies.
Taliban fighters blew up a truck bomb in front of the German consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif last Thursday night, killing six and wounding more than 120.
A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry said earlier that there were about 20 German staff at the consulate when it was attacked, but that they were safe and unharmed after the blast. He added that the German and Afghan security forces pressed back the heavily armed assailants.
