At least 40 people were killed and scores more injured Tuesday when a suicide bomber struck a gathering of religious scholars at a wedding hall in Kabul, Afghanistan, officials told the Associated Press.
The attack took place about 6:15 p.m. in Kabul. Local officials confirmed more than three dozen deaths.
“I have confirmed reports that 40 people have been killed,” Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid told Reuters.
The aid organization Emergency tweeted that they’ve been treating the injured.
“Attack on a wedding hall in #Kabul, close to the airport. We received a dozen patients as of now. All of them are very seriously wounded,” the group tweeted Tuesday morning.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, but it comes at a time of intense fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters. On Monday, for example, the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces said they launched a ground attack in Farah province that killed 23 Taliban fighters and destroyed at least four insurgent vehicles.
The attack also comes just a month after the Taliban targeted U.S. Gen. Austin Scott Miller, the top commander in Afghanistan, during a meeting with Afghan officials in Kandahar.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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