Rocket hits US consulate in Afghanistan

January 8, 2010 Afghan police have said that a rocket hit a building housing the new US consulate office in western Afghanistan earlier today. Three rockets were reportedly fired at the building in the city of Herat, but only one struck it.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties, and the Associated Press reported that no US staff were in the building at the time of the attack.

The building is a former hotel that the US government acquired last year to use as a new consulate.

Herat is located near Afghanistan's border with Iran; there has not been much violence in the city, although rebel groups are said to be active in the surrounding rural areas.