An explosion took place at the Uranus Wedding Hall in the Afghan capital of Kabul, TOLOnews reported. According to the country's Health Ministry, the blast claimed the lives of at least 50 people and left 83 others injured.
Earlier, the authorities said the death toll stood at 43, with 83 others injured.
“The number of fatalities in the Kabul attack has increased to 50, while 72 people were injured,” the ministry said in a statement shared with Sputnik.
As Basir Mujahid, the spokesman for the Kabul police, specified, the explosion occurred while members of the public were commemorating the birthday of Prophet Mohammad.
"The victims of the attack, unfortunately, are all religious scholars who gathered to commemorate the birthday of Prophet Muhammad," Basir Mujahid said, adding that the police had not been requested to provide security for the event.
As he explained, the bomber had easily slipped into the building as most wedding halls have private security.
40 Killed, 80 Wounded in Kabul Wedding Hall Blasthttps://t.co/S3TQo1GAnH pic.twitter.com/jgZjo0oPjQ
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) 20 ноября 2018 г.
Medical workers, police and firefighters are working at the scene. TOLOnews reported citing witnesses, that at least 1,000 people were inside the wedding hall when a suicide bomber detonated explosives.
#KabulExplosion – Dozens of ambulances rushed to the scene of tonight’s deadly bombing at a major wedding hall in the city center. Health officials said early indications are that over 40 people have been killed and dozens more wounded #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/YrTagLtPo6
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) 20 ноября 2018 г.
READ MORE: Rocket Hits House in Center of Afghanistan Killing 3, Injuring 9 — Reports
Speaking about the bombing, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned called it "an attack on Islamic values and followers of the Prophet Muhammad," and declaring Wednesday a day of mourning.
"It is an attack on humanity," Ghani said.
No terrorist group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and Daesh have previously targeted religious scholars aligned with the government. Taliban has previously carried out attacks targeting security forces and government officials across the country, while Daesh has bombed gatherings of minority Shiites, which resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths.
Two days before that, three people were killed and nine others injured when a rocket hit a house in Afghanistan's central province of Wardak, the Pahjwok news agency reported.
Afghan Forces Conduct Operation Against Daesh
Meanwhile, the Khaama Press News Agency reported on Tuesday that the Afghan forces had killed at least 51 militants linked with the Daesh terrorist group in the country's eastern Nangarhar province.
The 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan Military in the East said that Daesh militants had been killed during the operations conducted in Awghazvillage in Haska Mina district, the agency reported, citing the statement of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces.
The militant and terrorist groups have not yet commented on the situation, according to the news agency.
*Taliban, Daesh are terrorist groups banned in Russia
