At least 63 people have reportedly died and about 182 injured after a suicide bomb blast at a wedding in Kabul, Afghanistan capital.
The Afghan Interior Ministry confirmed the Kabul suicide bomb blast at a reception on Saturday night. Among the victims were women and children, spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. About 20 people were taken to a Kabul hospital run by the Italian NGO Emergency, the organization said.
“We were planning to sleep when we heard the sound of a loud explosion,” a witness who lives near the venue and did not want to be identified told CNN.
“When I came outside, I saw smoke coming out of the hall. I saw dead bodies and wounded people, who were being taken to hospitals by policemen and Kabul ambulances. We are too in shock, too upset by the incident.”
The Afghan Taliban denied any responsibility for the attack which took place at the west Kabul wedding hall, in a minority Shi’ite neighbourhood, packed with people celebrating a marriage, with spokesman Zabiullah Mojahid saying they condemn the suicide attack on civilians.
The venue is also near the Darul Aman palace, where President Ashraf Ghani is expected to celebrate Afghan Independence Day on Monday.
The attack came as the Taliban and the United States are trying to negotiate an agreement on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in exchange for a Taliban commitment on security and peace talks with the U.S.-backed government.
