Story highlights Attack injures 23, including many children

Three attackers die when one detonates a bomb

Attack is close to Indian consulate in Jalalabad

Indian government condemns the attack

Nine children died in a suicide bombing Saturday morning near an Indian consulate in Afghanistan, a governor's spokesman said.

The children apparently were students at a mosque near the consulate in Jalalabad.

All three attackers died, said Ahmedzia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar province.

He said 23 people, including many children, were injured. On Saturdays, children typically go to the mosque for religious classes.

The spokesman said the three attackers arrived in a Toyota Corolla about 100 meters from the consulate. Two began shooting. As security officials neared, the third detonated a bomb.

Jalalabad is between Kabul, the Afghan capital, and Peshawar in Pakistan. The border region is rife with Islamic extremists.

The consulate general of India condemned the attack in a statement, saying, "This attack has once again highlighted that the main threat to Afghanistan's security and stability stems from terrorism and the terror machine that continues to operate from beyond its borders."