Kabul suicide bomber kills 50

International Desk: A suicide bomb attack on a gathering of religious scholars in the Afghan capital, Kabul, has killed at least 50 people.

At least 83 people were also wounded as the clerics met at the Uranus wedding hall, a large banqueting complex near the airport, to mark the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

It is one of the deadliest attacks in Kabul in recent months.

No-one has yet claimed it was behind the blast.

So-called Islamic State and the Taliban have carried out a string of attacks in recent years.

But the Taliban has denied involvement and condemned the attack.

Some 1,000 people were said to be in the complex at the time of the explosion.
Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for Kabul police, said that "Islamic scholars and their followers had gathered to recite verses from the holy Koran to observe the Eid Milad-un-Nabi festival".

The suicide bomber gained entry and headed for the centre of the gathering, where he detonated his explosives.

Religious studies lecturer Mohammad Hanif said there was a deafening explosion and "everyone in the halls was screaming for help".

Images from the scene showed ripped and blood-stained clothes, broken glass and overturned furniture.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack as an "unforgivable crime" and declared Wednesday a day of national mourning.

The Islamic State in Afghanistan group, sometimes known as Islamic State Khorasan, has claimed responsibility for most of the recent deadly attacks of this kind.


Source: BBC



risingbd/Nov 21, 2018/Mukul