1st LD: At least 2 killed in Taliban attack on German consulate in N. Afghan city

At least two persons were killed and more than two dozens injured in an overnight Taliban car bombing against German consulate in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, local officials said Friday.

"One terrorist detonated a car bomb near the gate of German Consulate office late Thursday night, killing himself and one other person and injuring 28 others," a security source told Xinhua anonymously.

Further details about the incident are still forthcoming amid the absence of official statement while UN official sources put the number of the injured at 90 by the powerful explosion which occurred roughly at 11:15 p.m. (local time) Thursday.

"The injured were residents who suffer injuries by the bomb shrapnel and flying glasses as the blast damaged several buildings near the site," the source said, adding an investigation was launched into the incident and further details will be released after wards.

The death toll is likely to rise as some injured remained in critical condition, he said. Security forces have cordoned off the area for precautionary measures.

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

Zabiullah Mujahid, a purported Taliban spokesman, told local media that the bombing was a revenge attack against killing of civilians by "invaders" in northern Kunduz province earlier this month.

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.

Two U.S. soldiers and four Afghan troops were also killed by the clashes but the air strikes besides inflecting casualties on militants also claimed the lives of some 32 civilians and injured 19 civilians. Endit