Germany Thanks Georgian Soldiers for Repelling Terroristic Attack on German Consulate

TBILISI – German Defense Minister, Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen sent a letter to her Georgian counterpart, Levan Izoria and thanked him for bravery of Georgian servicemen in Afghanistan, who repelled a terroristic attack on German Consulate on Friday.

“I would like to thank you for professional action of your soldiers. Due to Georgian soldiers’ rapid and immediate action, it was possible to avoid worsening of the situation and transfer of our consular staff in a safe place. This is another proof of excellent and active cooperation between Georgia and Germany for many years. I am sure that by means of our close cooperation, we will be able to successfully implement joint missions in the future," the letter of Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen to Levan Izoria reads.

The fatal attack on Germany’s Consulate General in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif took place on November 11, killing at least six civilians and wounding 120.

According to BBC, a NATO spokesman said there was massive damage to the consulate after the truck smashed into a perimeter wall.

Germany leads the NATO diplomatic mission in northern Afghanistan and has nearly 1,000 troops stationed in the country.

According to German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, it was only possible to repel and force back the assailants following fighting, which also took place on the grounds and in the building of the Consulate-General.

The Minister underlined that the Consulate-General security staff, Afghan security forces, and German, Georgian, Belgian and Latvian special forces from the Resolute Support Mission were involved in the fighting.

“I would particularly like to thank the Afghan security forces and the Resolute Support forces, who rushed to help and thwarted the attack with great courage and professionalism, putting their own lives at risk,” the statement of German Foreign Ministry reads.

NATO Resolute Support mission was launched in early 2015 as a follow-on task from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, to which Georgia contributed about 750 troops.

Currently Georgia is the largest non-NATO contributor to the NATO peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan and the fifth largest contributor among all the contributor countries. 

By Thea Morrison