KABUL, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The death toll from a suicide bomb attack on a wedding reception in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, has risen to 80, two senior officials said on Wednesday.

The initial death toll after the Saturday night blast was 63, but some of the wounded had died in hospital, said Nasrat Rahimi, a spokesman at the interior ministry.

"Seventeen others have succumbed to their injuries in hospital and over 160 are still being treated either in hospitals or at home," Rahimi said.

The Islamic State militant group claimed responsibility for the attack. (Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Rupam Jain Editing by Robeert Birsel) </s> Afghan official: Death toll in suicide bombing rises to 68

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official says the death toll in a suicide bombing among a group of people protesting a local police commander in eastern Afghanistan has risen to 68, up from 32.

Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor, says Wednesday that 165 others were wounded in the attack a day earlier.

The bombing happened when a group from the district of Achin came to Momandara district to block the main highway between the capital Jalalabad and the Torkham border with Pakistan.

The Taliban denied any involvement in the attack.

No any other group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but both Taliban insurgents and the Islamic State group are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar province. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber killed at least 43 people Tuesday at a wedding hall, where victims had gathered for a religious event, authorities said.

The people were celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad’s birth, a Ministry of Public Health official told NBC News.

At least 80 people were also injured in the attack, officials said.

"A suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a wedding hall where Islamic religious scholars had gathered to commemorate the birthday of Prophet Mohammad," Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish told Reuters.

Local police were not asked to provide security, so the bomber easily got inside to target all the gathered clerics and religious scholars, Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid told The Associated Press.

"The victims of the attack, unfortunately, are all religious scholars who gathered to commemorate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad," said Mujahid.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.

But both the Taliban and Islamic State have recently targeted other religious gatherings, claiming event organizers are closely aligned with the government that both oppose. </s> A suicide bomber targeted a gathering of top clerics and religious scholars in Afghanistan's Kabul, killing at least 40 people and wounding 60 others.

Spokesman Wahid Majroh told AFP that the bombing targeted an Ulema Council gathering at a wedding hall to mark the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, also known as the Mawlid al-Nabawi, in one of the deadliest attacks to strike the Afghan capital in months.

Hundreds of scholars and clerics had gathered to mark the occasion in a large wedding hall in the capital, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid confirmed the casualty count to Reuters. "I have confirmed reports that 40 people have been killed," Mujahid said.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and a local Daesh affiliate have targeted religious scholars aligned with the government in the past. </s> Afghan official: Suicide bomber strikes gathering of religious scholars in Kabul; at least 50 killed and wounded

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan official: Suicide bomber strikes gathering of religious scholars in Kabul; at least 50 killed and wounded. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber targeted a gathering of Muslim religious scholars in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, killing at least 40 people, Afghan officials said.

Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said another 60 people were wounded in the attack, which took place as Muslims around the world marked the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. He said the toll could rise.

The suicide bomber was able to sneak into a wedding hall in Kabul where hundreds of religious scholars and clerics had gathered to mark the occasion.

"The victims of the attack unfortunately are all religious scholars who gathered to commemorate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad," said Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police chief. He said police had not been asked to provide security for the event, and that the bomber had easily slipped into the hall.

No one immediately claimed the attack, but both the Taliban and a local Islamic State affiliate have targeted religious scholars aligned with the government in the past.

IS claimed a suicide bombing in June that targeted a meeting of the country's top clerics in the capital. That attack killed at least seven people and wounded 20. The body of religious leaders, known as the Afghan Ulema Council, had issued a decree against suicide attacks and called for peace talks.

IS said it had targeted "tyrant clerics" who were siding with the U.S.-backed government.

The Taliban denied involvement in the June attack but they also denounced the gathering.

Both militant groups want to overthrow the U.S.-backed government and impose a harsh form of Islamic rule, but they are bitterly divided over leadership and ideology, and they have clashed on a number of occasions. </s> At least 40 people were killed in an explosion at a meeting of top clerics in Kabul on Tuesday, officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks to strike the Afghan capital in months.

Afghanistan's health ministry said more than 60 people were also wounded in the blast, which targeted a gathering of religious leaders, including members of the Ulema Council, at a wedding hall to mark the Prophet Mohammed's birthday.

"The suicide bomber detonated himself inside the hall during a ceremony by religious scholars," Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said, confirming the casualty toll.

A manager of Uranus Wedding Palace, which also hosts political and religious functions, said a suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the gathering.

“There are a lot of casualties – I myself have counted 30 casualties,” he told AFP on the condition of anonymity.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but the Islamic State (IS) group has claimed most recent suicide attacks in Kabul, which has become the deadliest place in the country for civilians.

It is the bloodiest assault in the Afghan capital since a twin bomb attack on a wrestling club in September that killed at least 26 people.

Last month's parliamentary elections sparked a wave of deadly violence across the country, with hundreds killed or wounded in poll-related attacks.

It is not the first time that religious scholars have been targeted by militants in the deeply religious country.

In June a suicide bomber struck near a gathering of clerics in Kabul, about an hour after the group had proclaimed such attacks a sin.

The latest attack comes as the Taliban intensifies pressure on Afghan security forces, even as the international community ramps up efforts to convince the group to engage in peace talks. </s> KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up in a banqueting hall where Islamic religious scholars had gathered in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, killing more than 50 people, three government officials said.

Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said more than 80 other people had been injured.

“A suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a wedding hall where Islamic religious scholars had gathered to commemorate the anniversary of the Prophet Mohammad’s birth,” Danish said.

The attacker entered a banquet room in the Uranus wedding hall, a massive complex housing several large banqueting halls near Kabul airport, and detonated his explosives.

“Hundreds of Islamic scholars and their followers had gathered to recite verses from the holy Quran to observe the Eid Milad-un-Nabi festival at the private banquet hall,” said Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for Kabul police.

Officials at Kabul’s Emergency Hospital said 30 ambulances had rushed to the blast site and over 40 people were critically wounded.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blast. </s> KABUL, Nov 20 — At least 40 people were killed in an explosion at a meeting of top clerics in Kabul today, officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks to strike the Afghan capital in months.

Another 60 people were wounded in the blast, health ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said, which targeted an Ulema Council gathering at a wedding hall to mark the Prophet Mohammad’s birthday.

“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.

“There are a lot of casualties—I myself have counted 30 casualties,” he told AFP on the condition of anonymity. — AFP
The death toll in the suicide bomb attack at a gathering of religious scholars in Kabul rises to 55.