Blast rocks area near U.S. Consulate in Afghanistan

HERET, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A huge explosion rocked the area near the U.S. Consulate Friday night in Herat, Afghanistan, setting off a heavy gunfight between militants and U.S. security forces, officials said.

The blast occurred around 6 a.m. (6:30 p.m. PT Thursday), according to Fazelullah Wahidi, the governor of Afghanistan's Western Herat province.

Some media reports called it a car bomb, but the BBC referred to it as a suicide bombing. The BBC's David Loyn in Afghanistan said the blast apparently didn't breach the perimeter of the consulate.

The U.S. Consulate "is secured and enemy forces defeated" after explosion, the NATO-led force told the BBC.

The Associated Press said there was one person killed in the blast. Nine injured people were brought to Herat Hospital, according hospital official Mohammad Rafiq Sherzad.

Witnesses reported heavy gunfire over an hour later.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail to CNN.