A suicide bombing targeted a wedding ceremony inside a large wedding hall in the western Kabul on Thursday’s night, killing 63 guests and injuring 182 others. Afghan leaders, UNAMA along with other diplomatic missions in the country condemned the attack.
In a tweet on Sunday, President Ghani said, “Taliban cannot absolve themselves of blame, for they provide platform for terrorists.” He also called an extraordinary security meeting to review and prevent such security lapses.
Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah also condemned the attack and described it as a “heinous and inhumane attack.” He further noted that it was indeed a crime against humanity.
Issuing a statement, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said its human rights team would conduct a probe on the incident. “An attack deliberately targeting civilians is an outrage, and deeply troubling, as it can only be described as a cowardly act of terror,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General’s Specialn Representative for Afghanistan.
He further noted that the current measures in place to protect civilians must be strengthened and those who were involved behind such attacks must brought to justice.
The wedding hall where the attack took place is located in a heavily populated area of Kabul, mostly dominated by Afghanistan’s Shia Muslim minority. UNAMA has documented several previous attacks deliberately carried out against this community.
US Ambassador to Afghanistan John R. Bass said in a tweet that the bombing was an act of extreme depravity. “No one should be subject to such an attack, least of all innocent children,” he added.
The British embassy in Afghanistan also said that the UK utterly condemns the heinous attack, adding that “the violence must stop.”
“NATO strongly condemns the terrorist attack at a wedding celebration in Kabul yesterday evening,” the NATO mission in Afghanistan said in a tweet on Sunday.
Germany’s envoy on Afghanistan, Potzel Markus, said, “This is completely sick and inhumane” and has to stop immediately. “I call on every stakeholders to enforce their efforts towards peace in AFG. This all has to start with an end to violence,” he further noted.
The Islamic State Khurasan Province has claimed responsibility for the attack.
