Afghanistan: Suicide Bombing At Religious Gathering Kills Dozens

Local Editor

Dozens of people lost their lives in a powerful suicide bomb blast that targeted a large gathering of top religious figures in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

Wahid Majroh, health ministry spokesperson, said Tuesday's explosion killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 70 others. 

He added that the death toll could rise further as many of those injured were in critical condition.

"A suicide bomber detonated his explosives" inside a large wedding hall where hundreds of scholars and clerics had gathered to mark the birthday of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, interior ministry spokesperson Najib Danish said.

"I heard the explosion, I just managed to take my cousin out of there who was seriously wounded," Ahmad Fahim said lying in a hospital bed. "But when I got here, I realized that I was wounded as well."

Religious studies lecturer Mohammad Hanif said verses of the Quran were being recited when there was a deafening explosion followed by "chaos" inside the packed hall.

"More than 60 or 70 people were martyred," Hanif, 31, told the AFP news agency outside a trauma facility run by Italian NGO Emergency. He escaped unhurt.

"They suffered burns, everyone in the halls was screaming for help."

A manager of Uranus Wedding Palace, which also hosts political and religious functions, told AFP a suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the gathering of religious scholars.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team