At least 40 killed in bomb attack on gathering to mark Prophet Mohammad’s birthday in Afghanistan

At least 40 people are killed and 60 more injured in suicide bomb attack on gathering to mark the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday in Afghanistan

  • The explosion ripped through a meeting of top clerics at a wedding hall in Kabul
  • Officials say at least 40 are dead and 60 more injured after the suicide bombing
  • Blast targeted an Ulema Council meeting to mark Prophet Mohammad’s birthday

At least 40 people have been killed and 60 more injured in a suicide bomb attack on a gathering to mark the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday in Afghanistan.

The explosion ripped through a meeting of top clerics in Kabul today in one of the deadliest attacks to strike the Afghan capital in months.

Officials say the blast targeted an Ulema Council meeting at a wedding hall to mark the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday. 

At least 40 people have been killed and 60 more injured in a suicide bomb attack on a gathering to mark the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday in Afghanistan. A victim is pictured arriving at hospital after the blast

‘Initial information suggests it was caused by a suicide bomber,’ interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

He said the number of dead and wounded was ‘more than 50’ so far.

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.

The explosion ripped through a meeting of top clerics in Kabul today in one of the deadliest attacks to strike the Afghan capital in months

The explosion ripped through a meeting of top clerics in Kabul today in one of the deadliest attacks to strike the Afghan capital in months

‘There are a lot of casualties – I myself have counted 30 casualties,’ he told AFP on the condition of anonymity. 

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and a local ISIS affiliate have targeted religious scholars aligned with the government in the past.

Hardline Sunni Muslims do not observe ‘mawlid’ – the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday – at all, considering it a more modern addition to Islam.

When ISIS seized the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014, it banned celebrating the prophet’s birth.

 

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