Isil bomber kills 63 at wedding feast
A SUICIDE bomber from Islamic State killed at least 63 people and wounded scores more when he detonated explosives in crowds at a wedding feast in Kabul, in the most deadly attack in Afghanistan this year.
The scale of the carnage in a western Shia district of the Afghan capital was met with shock in a city frequently hit by suicide attacks. It underlined fears that a peace deal between America and the Taliban will not end the violence.
The US called the bombing “an act of extreme depravity”, while the Taliban, who have themselves regularly killed civilians in indiscriminate bombings, said it was barbaric. The bomber, called Abu Assim al Pakistani, blew himself up after infiltrating a gathering of “infidels”, according to the Afghan branch of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). Afghan Shia Muslims have repeatedly been hit by the group.
The blast tore through crowds of well-wishers and relatives, the groom told a local television station.
The attack “changed my happiness to sorrow”, said the young man, who gave his name as Mirwais.
“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.”
Ashraf Ghani, the Afghan president, condemned “the inhumane attack”. He added: “My top priority for now is to reach out to the families of victims of this barbaric attack.”
He said the Taliban movement fighting his government “cannot absolve themselves of blame, for they provide [a] platform for terrorists”.
US and Taliban envoys have been working to reach a deal that will see US troops withdraw and the Taliban give guarantees that Afghanistan will not become a haven for transnational terrorist groups such as al-qaeda.