Death toll in Afghan wedding bombing rises to 80

Published Aug 21, 2019

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Kabul - The number of people killed in an Islamic State suicide

bombing of a wedding hall in Afghanistan's capital Kabul has risen to

80, an official said on Wednesday. 

Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said that the increase was

due to a number of critically injured victims succumbing to their

wounds.

The ministry had on Sunday said that 63 people were killed and 182

others injured in the bombing that had taken place late Saturday

night. 

The bombing, the city's deadliest so far this year, took place on

Dar-ul Aman road, where the streets were illuminated with colourful

lights at night for the 100th anniversary of Afghanistan's

independence that was to be celebrated on August 19.

Extensive celebrations were originally planned throughout the country

with 4.8 million dollars allocated by the government to be spent on

the festivities in a presidential decree from June.

Afghans pray near the coffins of victims of the Dubai City wedding hall bombing during a mass funeral in Kabul. The deadly bombing at the wedding in Afghanistan's capital late Saturday that killed dozens of people was a stark reminder that the war-weary country faces daily threats not only from the long-established Taliban but also from a brutal local affiliate of the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack. Picture: Rafiq Maqbool/AP

Some events were postponed or cancelled after the bombing. 

The attack was the 17th to take place in Kabul since the beginning of

the year and the second deadliest one in August alone. At least 193

people have died and nearly 900 others have been injured in the

attacks.

dpa

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