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.