JALALABAD: At least six people were killed and 14 wounded on Friday when a suicide bomber attacked a wedding ceremony in eastern Afghanistan, an official said.

The militant Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate later claimed responsibility for the bombing in Nangarhar province close to the Pakistan border.

“This morning at 8am, a suicide bomber detonated himself at a wedding ceremony... in Pachiragam district,” said Attaullah Khogyani, the Nangarhar governor’s spokesman.

He said six people had been killed and 14 wounded, a change from an earlier toll of five dead and 40 wounded.

“All the villagers were gathered for a wedding ceremony,” said witness Saleem Jan, who was himself a guest and who was wounded in the blast. Speaking from hospital, he described confusion as the bomb exploded and people began running.

“I didn’t know what happened,” he said. “When I turned my face I saw dozens of people were wounded, lying on the ground.” Nangarhar regional hospital’s spokesman Zahir Adil said that two bodies and 11 injured victims were taken to the hospital in central Nangarhar city.

The attack comes just days after historic talks between Afghan representatives and the Taliban wrapped up as part of a US-led effort to end the war.

At the conclusion of the two-day summit in Doha, parties unveiled a joint resolution pledging a “roadmap for peace” in which they sought to reduce civilian casualties to “zero”.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2019