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
‘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.