Kabul, July 14 (Xinhua-RHC) -- Twenty-three people including a locally prominent parliamentarian and a province intelligence chief were killed as a suicide bomber targeted a wedding party Saturday morning in Samangan province, 215 km north of the Afghan capital of Kabul.

A statement issued by the country’s Interior Ministry confirmed that “A suicide bomber blew himself up during a wedding party inside a hotel in Aibak city, the capital of Samangan province, this morning killing 23 people including parliamentarian Ahmad Khan Samangani and General Mohammad Khan the Director of National Directorate for Security (NDS) of Samangan province and injuring 60 others including some officials.”

The ministry put the attack on Taliban militants, condemning the Taliban terrorists and murders turned the wedding into painful tragedy for the party-goers.

Taliban militants fighting the government and largely using suicide and roadside bombings have denied responsibility for the bloody attack.

Meanwhile, President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the suicide bombing that killed and injured many innocent people, blaming the enemies of Afghanistan for the deadly attack in Samangan.

The president assigned a delegation led by Deputy Attorney General Rahmatullah Nazari and consisting of representatives from the Interior Ministry and the intelligence agency NDS to initiate an all-out investigation into the terrorist attack.

Share this article