Kabul: ISIS Claims Responsibility For Suicide Bombing At Shia Wedding; 63 Killed And 182 Injured

With the US stepping up efforts to withdraw from Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed 63 and injured 182, by attacking a wedding ceremony in Kabul on Saturday night (17 August), reports Indian Express.

The Islamic State has now taken responsibility for the terror attack. Taliban had earlier denied responsibility for the blast which took place in the Shia dominated neighbourhood in western Kabul. Shiites form a minority in the Sunni Muslim dominated demography of Afghanistan.

The attackers chose a crowded wedding hall. Women and children are also among the casualties, said the interior ministry spokesperson Nasrat Rahimi.

Washington is on the verge of withdrawing its forces from the strife-torn region and is currently locked in negotiations with the Taliban to commit itself on security and peace talks with the US-backed government.

Saturday's ghastly attack follows a series of such suicide attacks in the region. A brother of Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada was killed in an attack on a mosque in Pakistan on Friday.

On 7 August, a Talibani suicide bomber exploded himself, at a security checkpoint in a Shia majority area in Kabul, killing at least 14 and injuring over 140.