Blast at Afghanistan`s Mazar-e-Sharif city kills four, 110 injured; Taliban claims responsibility

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Kabul, Nov 11 (IANS) At least four people were killed and over 110 injured when the German consulate in Afghanistan's Mazar-i-Sharif was targeted by a suicide truck bomb and a subsequent attack by Taliban militants, officials said on Friday.

"One terrorist detonated a car bomb near the consulate gate late Thursday night, killing himself and one other person," a security official told Xinhua news agency.

The injured were all residents, the official said.

The death toll is likely to rise as some injured remained in critical condition, health sources said. 

The Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after the blast.

Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement that the attack was retaliation for recent airstrikes in Kunduz from the "invading countries" which caused civilian casualties.

On November 3, a series of air strikes were carried out by NATO-led forces on outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city, following ground operations conducted by foreign and Afghan security forces there.