At least 43 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a meeting of top clerics in Kabul on Tuesday, officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks to strike Afghanistan this year.

It follows a wave of bloody violence across the war-torn country in recent weeks that has killed hundreds of people as militants step up assaults amid a flurry of diplomatic efforts to end the 17-year conflict.

At least 83 people were wounded in the blast, health ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said, which targeted religious leaders inside a wedding hall where hundreds had gathered to mark the Prophet Mohammad's birthday. At least 24 are in a critical condition.

A photo posted on WhatsApp purportedly of the function room showed blood splattered bodies, some with the clothes partially ripped off by the force of the blast, overturned chairs and broken glass strewn over the floor.

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

Italian NGO Emergency said on Twitter a dozen wounded had been taken to its trauma facility in Kabul, all of them "seriously wounded".

A manager of Uranus Wedding Palace, which also hosts political and religious functions, told AFP the suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the gathering of around 1,000 people.

"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 group has claimed most recent suicide attacks in Kabul, which has become the most dangerous place in the country for civilians.

It was the bloodiest assault in the Afghan capital since a twin bomb attack on a wrestling club in September that killed at least 26 people and one of the deadliest in the country this year.

A suicide attack on Afghans protesting the appointment of a local police chief in the eastern province of Nangarhar in September killed at least 68 people and wounded another 165. No group claimed the explosion.

In January an ambulance packed with explosives detonated in a crowded street in the heart of Kabul, killing more than 100 people, mostly civilians. The attack was claimed by the Taliban.

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 Islamic 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.

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad expressed hopes in Kabul on Sunday that a peace deal to end the 17-year war could be struck before the Afghan presidential election, scheduled for April.

His comments underscore an apparent increasing sense of urgency in the White House and among American diplomats for a peace deal to be done quickly.</s>UNITED NATIONS, Nov 21 (APP):UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the terrorist attack targeting a religious gathering in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul that claimed dozens of civilian lives.</s>KABUL: Minutes after he took a seat among hundreds of religious scholars at a ceremony for the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday in Kabul, a huge explosion shook the room, throwing Ahmad Fareed to the floor.

 Scattered around him were the bloodied bodies of turbaned men who had taken the full force of the suicide blast and probably saved his life.

 “It was absolute horror, people dead and wounded, covered in blood and pieces of flesh,” Fareed, 40, said on Wednesday as he lay in a hospital bed with leg and shoulder injuries.

 “My friend and his little son were also next to me, covered in blood and not moving.”

 At least 55 people were killed and 94 wounded when the bomber blew himself up in the middle of the banquet hall at the Uranus Wedding Palace on Tuesday evening — one of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan this year.

 A video posted on social media purportedly filmed by one of the hundreds of attendees showed a large gathering of men listening to a recitation of the Holy Quran before an explosion triggered pandemonium.

 On Wednesday morning, as cleaners prepared the multi-storey venue for more events, bloodied turbans, sandals, overturned chairs and broken glass still littered the cavernous room where the massacre happened.

 The attack drew widespread condemnation in Afghanistan and abroad, with the United Nations describing it as an “atrocity.”

 US ambassador to Kabul John Bass said he was “sickened and deeply saddened” by the bombing, while the European Union delegation to Afghanistan said the explosion was “an attack on all of us, religious or not, who value freedom”.

 President Ashraf Ghani declared Wednesday a national day of mourning for the victims of the attack, which he described as an “unforgivable crime.”

 Security at the wedding hall included a body search by an armed guard followed by physical checks by several religious students, said Obaidullah, who suffered multiple injuries to his face and body.

 There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though the Taliban were quick to condemn the blast. The IS group, which has claimed most suicide attacks in Kabul this year, has not issued a statement.

 It is not clear why the religious scholars were targeted on one of the holiest days on the Islamic calendar.

 While Muslims around the world celebrate the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, some fundamentalists criticise the events as heretical innovations in Islam.

 Most of the people at the gathering were Sufis, said Mehrab Danish, an adviser to the religious affairs minister. “But it is too early to say they were targeted because they were followers of Sufism,” he cautioned.

 — AFP</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>This is the horrific moment at least 55 people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a meeting of Muslim scholars marking the Prophet's birthday.

A member of the audience had been recording the meeting on his phone and caught the explosion on camera at the gathering of hundreds of Muslims at a wedding hall in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Around 94 people were injured in the attack, with more than 20 injured critically. The death toll is expected to rise.

You can see the terrifying moment scholars are thrown to the ground in the footage, with the man recording sent sprawling.

He can then be seen climbing to his feet unsteadily and joining a crowd of people running to the exit in panic.

The suicide bomber is believed to have easily sneaked into the hall, as the event's organisers hadn't requested security from the police.

Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said: 'The victims of the attack unfortunately are all religious scholars who gathered to commemorate the birthday of Prophet Mohammed.'

Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said 55 people were killed and 94 others were wounded in the attack.

Most wedding halls in Afghanistan have their own private security guards.

Mohammad Muzamil, a waiter at the event, said he had gone into the back of the hall to fetch water for the guests when he heard the explosion.

'Everything was covered with smoke and dust,' he said. 'There were dead bodies all around on the chairs, in large numbers.'

Ahmad Fareed survived the blast but was caught up in the carnage.

Fareed, 40, told AFP on Wednesday as he lay in a hospital bed with leg and shoulder injuries: 'It was absolute horror, people dead and wounded, covered in blood and pieces of flesh.

'My friend and his little son were also next to me, covered in blood and not moving.'

Police sealed off roads leading to the scene of the explosion as ambulances raced to the scene.

Hundreds of anxious relatives gathered at local hospitals, looking at lists of those killed and wounded posted outside, for news of their loved ones.

No one immediately claimed credit for the attack, but both the Taliban and affiliates of the so-called Islamic State have targeted religious scholars aligned with the government in the past.

IS claimed a suicide bombing in June that killed at least seven people and wounded another 20 at a meeting of the country's top clerics in the capital.

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 US-backed government. The Taliban denied involvement in the June attack but they also denounced the gathering.

The explosion ripped through a meeting of top clerics during a banquet at a wedding hall in Kabul today in one of the deadliest attacks to strike the Afghan capital in months.

Hardline Sunni Muslims do not observe 'mawlid' - the Prophet Mohammad's birthday - at all, considering it a more modern addition to Islam. When ISIS seized the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014, it banned celebrating the prophet's birth.

Today's blast targeted an Ulema Council gathering as millions of Muslims around the world marked mawlid.

It follows a wave of violence across war-torn Afghanistan in recent weeks that has killed hundreds of people as militants step up attacks.

A photo posted on WhatsApp purportedly of the function room showed blood splattered bodies, some with the clothes partially ripped off by the force of the blast, overturned chairs and broken glass strewn over the floor.

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

Italian NGO Emergency said on Twitter a dozen wounded had been taken to its trauma facility in Kabul, all of them 'seriously wounded'.

A manager of Uranus Wedding Palace, which also hosts political and religious functions, told AFP the suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the gathering of around 1,000 people.

'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 ISIS group has claimed most recent suicide attacks in Kabul, which has become the most dangerous place in the country for civilians.

It was the bloodiest assault in the Afghan capital since a twin bomb attack on a wrestling club in September that killed at least 26 people and one of the deadliest in the country this year.

A suicide attack on Afghans protesting the appointment of a local police chief in the eastern province of Nangarhar in September killed at least 68 people and wounded another 165. No group claimed the explosion.

In January an ambulance packed with explosives detonated in a crowded street in the heart of Kabul, killing more than 100 people, mostly civilians. The attack was claimed by the Taliban.

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 Islamic 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.

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad expressed hopes in Kabul on Sunday that a peace deal to end the 17-year war could be struck before the Afghan presidential election, scheduled for April.

His comments underscore an apparent increasing sense of urgency in the White House and among American diplomats for a peace deal to be done quickly.</s>Minutes after he took a seat among hundreds of religious scholars at a ceremony for the Prophet Mohammad's birthday in Kabul, a huge explosion shook the room, throwing Ahmad Fareed to the floor.

Scattered around him were the bloodied bodies of turbaned men who had taken the full force of the suicide blast and probably saved his life.

"It was absolute horror, people dead and wounded, covered in blood and pieces of flesh," Fareed, 40, told AFP on Wednesday as he lay in a hospital bed with leg and shoulder injuries.

"My friend and his little son were also next to me, covered in blood and not moving."

At least 55 people were killed and 94 wounded when the bomber blew himself up in the middle of the banquet hall at the Uranus Wedding Palace on Tuesday evening -- one of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan this year.

A video posted on social media purportedly filmed by one of the hundreds of attendees showed a large gathering of men listening to a recitation of the Koran before an explosion triggered pandemonium.

On Wednesday morning, as cleaners prepared the multi-storey venue for more events, bloodied turbans, sandals, overturned chairs and broken glass still littered the cavernous room where the massacre happened.

The attack drew widespread condemnation in Afghanistan and abroad, with the United Nations describing it as an "atrocity".

US ambassador to Kabul John Bass said he was "sickened and deeply saddened" by the bombing, while the European Union delegation to Afghanistan said the explosion was "an attack on all of us, religious or not, who value freedom".

President Ashraf Ghani declared Wednesday a national day of mourning for the victims of the attack, which he described as an "unforgivable crime".

Security at the wedding hall included a body search by an armed guard followed by physical checks by several religious students, said Obaidullah, who suffered multiple injuries to his face and body.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though the Taliban were quick to condemn the blast. The Islamic State group, which has claimed most suicide attacks in Kabul this year, has not issued a statement.

It is not clear why the religious scholars were targeted on one of the holiest days in the Islamic calendar.

While Muslims around the world celebrate the Prophet Mohammad's birthday, some fundamentalists criticise the events as heretical innovations in Islam.

Most of the people at the gathering were Sufis, a mystical branch of Islam, said Mehrab Danish, an adviser to the religious affairs minister.

"But it is too early to say they were targeted because they were followers of Sufism," he cautioned.

Sectarian militants in Pakistan have long targeted Sufis, but such attacks on the group are rare in Afghanistan.</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</s>A suicide bomber targeted a gathering of Muslim religious scholars in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, killing at least 40 people, officials have said.

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

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, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

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 targeted in June, 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 US-backed government.

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

Both militant groups want to overthrow the US-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, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber attacked a religious gathering Tuesday in the Afghan capital, killing at least 50 Muslim scholars and clerics who had gathered to mark the birth anniversary of the prophet Muhammad, officials said.

The victims included religious delegates from various parts of Afghanistan, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said. He said the gathering was convened by the Afghan Ulema Council, the country’s largest religious body, and was attended by hundreds of Sunni Muslims. At least 72 attendees were wounded, the Health Ministry said.

In a statement, President Ashraf Ghani described the attack as “unforgivable and a clear act of hostility against Islam’s teaching.” He declared Wednesday a national day of mourning and ordered that flags be flown at half-staff. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said it was outraged by the attack.

According to government officials, the bombing was carried out by a lone assailant who targeted the ceremony in large hall on the first floor of a hotel close to the Interior Ministry, a venue usually used for weddings.

More than 20 of those wounded in the attack were in critical condition, Health Ministry officials said. There were unconfirmed reports about the deaths of a number of top religious figures.

Officials said they feared that the death toll could rise.

One police official said high-grade explosives were used in the blast, which left body parts strewn all over the floor of the hall. The bomber detonated his suicide vest as the scholars and clerics began to recite verses from the Koran, officials said.

“It was the beginning of the function when the blast occurred,” said Shah Mohammad, a witness who helped take casualties to a hospital. “There were bodies all over the place.”

Police were not asked to provide security for the event, a police spokesman said, and the suicide bomber was able to slip into the hall undetected.

Ambulance sirens could be heard in several parts of the capital for hours after Tuesday’s attack. Images on social media showed part of the badly damaged hall of the hotel. Requests for blood donations were announced.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

But suspicion immediately fell on the Islamic State, which is considered even more ruthless than the Taliban insurgency that has been battling the Afghan government and its foreign backers for 17 years.

The Taliban “strongly condemns attacks on civilians and sessions of ulema,” or Muslim clerics, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement sent to reporters.

Without naming any group, but indirectly alluding to the Islamic State, he blamed the attack on “seditious circles” that he said have brutally killed Muslims over minor differences. He said this must be prevented.

The Taliban often uses suicide bombings in its own attacks on government and foreign targets and has been blamed for the deaths of thousands of civilians, the United Nations has reported.

In June, at least 14 people, including seven clerics, were killed in a suicide attack in Kabul after leaving a government-sponsored conference of the Ulema Council at which religious leaders from both Sunni and Shiite sects condemned suicide attacks and the militants’ war against the U.S.-backed Afghan government.

The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the June attack, denouncing the meeting of “tyrant clerics” and their condemnation of suicide attacks, according to a website affiliated with the group.

The Afghan Ulema Council had issued an unprecedented religious edict earlier that day that said the insurgency in Afghanistan has no religious basis. It also declared that suicide attacks, often used by Taliban and Islamic State insurgents, are “haram,” or forbidden by Islam.

Affiliates of the Islamic State have repeatedly targeted mosques and sites of worship of Afghan Shiite Muslims in recent years. The Islamic State, a radical Sunni group, regards Shiites as heretics.

Earlier this month, a deadly blast targeted a demonstration by hundreds of minority Shiites in the capital. Afghan officials said several people were killed in the Nov. 12 explosion near a high school and close to a gathering of people protesting Taliban attacks on Shiite areas in the Jaghuri and Malistan districts of eastern Ghazni province.
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• FBI confirms second suspicious package sent to Tom Steyer While it remained unclear who carried out Tuesday’s bombing, hard-line Sunnis view venerating the prophet’s birthday as sacrilegious. Although the anniversary is widely celebrated in the Islamic world, it is a holiday that extreme fundamentalists are trying to stamp out.

The Washington Post’s William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.
The death toll in the suicide bomb attack at a gathering of religious scholars in Kabul rises to 55.