63 killed, 182 wounded in Kabul wedding blast

KABUL - Joy and celebration turned into horror and carnage when a suicide bomber targeted a packed Afghan wedding hall, killing at least 63 people in the deadliest attack to rock Kabul in months, officials and witnesses said on Sunday.

The blast, which took place late on Saturday in west Kabul, came as Washington and the Taliban finalize a deal to reduce the US military presence in Afghanistan and hopefully build a road map to a cease-fire.

The local Islamic State group's affiliate claimed responsibility for what was the deadliest attack in Kabul this year.

The groom, who only gave his name as Mirwais, recalled greeting smiling guests in the afternoon, before seeing their bodies being carried out hours later.

The attack "changed my happiness to sorrow", Mirwais said.

"My family, my bride are in shock, they cannot even speak. My bride keeps fainting," he said.

"I lost my brother, I lost my friends, I lost my relatives. I will never see happiness in my life again."

Afghan Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said at least 63 people had been killed and 182 injured. "Among the wounded are women and children," Rahimi said. Earlier he stated that the blast was caused by a suicide bomber.

Afghan weddings are epic and vibrant affairs, with hundreds or often thousands of guests celebrating for hours inside industrial-scale wedding halls where the men are usually segregated from the women and children.

"The wedding guests were dancing and celebrating the party when the blast happened," recounted Munir Ahmad, 23, who was seriously injured and whose cousin was among the dead.

"Following the explosion, there was total chaos. Everyone was screaming and crying for their loved ones," he said.

In the aftermath, images from inside the hall showed bloodstained bodies on the ground along with pieces of flesh and torn clothes, hats, sandals and bottles of mineral water.

Wedding guest Mohammad Farhag said he was in the women's section when he heard a huge blast in the men's area.

"For about 20 minutes the hall was full of smoke. Almost everyone in the men's section is either dead or wounded."

One guest who spoke to Tolo said about 1,200 people had been invited.

The attack sent a wave of grief through a city grimly accustomed to atrocities. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called the incident a "barbaric attack", while the country's Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah described it as a "crime against humanity".

There has been no letup in fighting and bomb attacks in Afghanistan over recent months despite the talks between the United States and the Taliban since late last year.

In the northern province of Balkh, 11 civilians were killed on Sunday when a roadside bomb blew up their van, police said.

Agencies

(China Daily 08/19/2019 page12)