17 August 2019 Kabul bombing

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17 August 2019 Kabul bombing
Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and Persecution of Shias by the Islamic State
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Bombing site
Bombing site (Afghanistan)
Location map Afghanistan Kabul.svg
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Bombing site
Bombing site (Kabul)
Location Kabul, Afghanistan
Coordinates 34°30′03″N69°08′43″E / 34.5007°N 69.1452°E / 34.5007; 69.1452
Date17 August 2019 (2019-08-17)
10:40 p.m. (AFT; UTC+04:30)
Target Shia Hazara civilians
Attack type
 Suicide bombing
Weapons Explosive belt
Deaths92
Injured142
Perpetrators Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province
Motive Anti-Shi'ism
 

On 17 August 2019, a suicide bombing took place during a wedding in a wedding hall in Kabul, Afghanistan. At least 92 people were killed in the attack and over 140 injured. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the bombing, stating that the attack targeted the Shi'ites. [6] More than 1,000 people were gathered for the wedding when the attack took place. [7] [6] The attack occurred a day before the 100th Afghan Independence Day, causing the government to postpone the planned celebrations taking place at the Darul Aman Palace. [8] It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since January 2018. [9]

Contents

Attack

The suicide bombing occurred at approximately 10:40 p.m. Afghanistan Time (UTC+04:30) in western Kabul, in an area heavily populated by the Shia Hazara minority, inside the "Dubai City" wedding hall. [10] [11] The suicide bomber detonated the explosives in the men's section [12] of the wedding hall, near the stage where musicians were playing, [13] at a time when hundreds were inside the building for a wedding ceremony. [14] The bomber detonated a suicide vest packed with ball bearings. [15]

The explosion occurred shortly before the wedding ceremony was supposed to start. [13] According to the wedding hall's owner, more than 1,200 people had been invited to the event, with a mixed group of Shi'ites and Sunnis attending. [16] Most of the attendees were ethnic Hazaras. [6] Both the bride and the groom were Shi'ite, [6] and both from modest working class families, with the groom working as a tailor. [15] Their families had discussed how to schedule the timing of the wedding to try to minimize the risk of an attack. [15]

At least 63 people were initially killed and 182 injured. While the bride and groom survived, both lost several family members. Many children were also among those killed. [6] 17 more people succumbed to their injuries in the days after the attack, bringing the death toll to 80. [5] The final death toll was put at 92.

Responsibility

The day after the attack, a local affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS, the Islamic State, or Daesh) claimed responsibility for the attack. [17] [18] The statement of responsibility claimed that after the suicide bombing inside the wedding hall, a car bomb was also detonated outside as emergency vehicles were arriving. [19] The follow-up car bombing has not been confirmed by the authorities. [20]

The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack, [6] [21] with a spokesman stating that the Taliban "condemns [the bombing] in the strongest terms". [6]

Reactions

Domestic

President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani declared a day of mourning. [20] He also stated that the Taliban can not fully escape blame for the attack either, saying that "The Taliban cannot absolve themselves of blame for they provide platform for terrorists." [22] [23]

The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack and condemned it. The group's spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group "strongly condemns explosion[ sic ] targeting civilians inside a hotel in Kabul city," while also adding that "Such barbaric deliberate attacks against civilians including women and children are forbidden and unjustifiable." [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Hazaras</span> Persecution of the Hazaras ethnic group

The Hazaras have long been the subjects of persecution in Afghanistan. The Hazaras are mostly from Afghanistan, primarily from the central regions of Afghanistan, known as Hazarajat. Significant communities of Hazara people also live in Quetta, Pakistan and in Mashad, Iran, as part of the Hazara and Afghan diasporas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State – Khorasan Province</span> Islamic State branch in Central and South Asia

The Islamic State – Khorasan Province is a regional branch of the Salafi jihadist group Islamic State (IS) active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. ISIS–K seeks to destabilize and replace current governments within the historic Khorasan region with the goal of establishing a caliphate across South and Central Asia, governed under a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law, which they plan to expand beyond the region.

Shia Muslims have been persecuted by the Islamic State (IS), an Islamic extremist group, since 2014. Persecutions have taken place in Iraq, Syria, and other parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July 2016 Kabul bombing</span> Twin bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan

On 23 July 2016, a twin bombing occurred in the vicinity of Deh Mazang square in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, when Enlightenment Movement protesters, mostly from the Hazara ethnic group, were marching against a decision to bypass their region in the development of the TUTAP mega power project. At least 97 people were killed and 260 injured. The terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility, however the same group later on refused it. Some Hazara protestors allege that Afghan president Ashraf Ghani was behind the attack. They believe that Ashraf Ghani government was abetting the terrorists who were responsible for the attack. They also allege that the government officials were preventing the wounded from being shifted to the hospital.

The December 2017 Kabul suicide bombing occurred on 28 December 2017, when militants attacked a Shiite cultural centre in Kabul, Afghanistan. The attack killed 50 people and injured over 80.

A suicide bombing occurred on 21 March 2018 around 12:00 PM in Kabul near Kart-e Sakhi, a Shia shrine. At least 33 people were killed with more than 65 wounded in the bombing. The militant group ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.

On 22 April 2018, a suicide bombing killed 70 people and wounded dozens more Sunday at a voter registration center in Koche Mahtab Qala, in the Hazara-majority Dashte Barchi area of western Kabul, Afghanistan. In addition to the fatalities, at least 120 others were injured in the attack.

On 30 April 2018, two suicide bombers detonated near government buildings in central Kabul, Afghanistan, killing at least 29 people and injuring 50.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State–Taliban conflict</span> 2015–present armed conflict in Afghanistan

The Islamic State–Taliban conflict is an ongoing insurgency by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP) against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The conflict initially began when both operated as rival insurgent groups in Nangarhar; since the formation of the Taliban's state in 2021, IS-KP members have enacted a campaign of terrorism targeting both civilians and assassinating Taliban members using hit-and-run tactics. The group have also caused incidents and attacks across the border in Pakistan.

On 8 May 2021, a car bombing, followed by two more improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, occurred in front of Sayed al-Shuhada school in Dashte Barchi, a predominantly Shia Hazara area in western Kabul, Afghanistan, leaving at least 90 people dead and 240 injured. The majority of the casualties were girls between 11 and 15 years old. The attack took place in a neighborhood that has frequently been attacked by militants belonging to the regional Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-K) over the years.

On 8 October 2021, an ISIS-K suicide bombing occurred at the Shia Gozar-e-Sayed Abad Mosque in the Afghan city of Kunduz. Over 50 people were killed, and another 100 injured, but according to an estimate by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, more than 100 people were killed and wounded.

On 21 April 2022, a powerful bomb rocked the Shia Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, Afghanistan killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 87 others. The Islamic State – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility via Telegram.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">September 2022 Kabul school bombing</span> 2022 bombing in Afghanistan

On September 30, 2022, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Kaaj education center in Dashte Barchi, a Hazara neighborhood in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing at least 52 and 110 injured The majority of the victims were young Hazara female students.

References

  1. ↑ "Afghanistan war: Tracking the killings in August 2019". BBC News . 16 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  2. ↑ "Suicide attack targeting Kabul wedding kills at least 60". France 24. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  3. ↑ Sediqi, Abdul Qadir (17 August 2019). "Afghan wedding suicide blast kills 63, amid hopes for talks". Reuters. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  4. ↑ "Bomb blast at wedding party in Kabul, Afghanistan kills 63 and injures 182 more". Sky News. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Death toll in Afghanistan wedding blast rises to 80". Al Jazeera. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Constable, Pamela; Hassan, Sharif (18 August 2019). "Islamic State claims suicide attack on Kabul wedding that killed 63". The Washington Post . Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "Bomb kills 63 at wedding in Kabul". BBC News. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  8. ↑ "Wedding bombing: Afghanistan postpones 100th Independence Day celebrations". Indo-Asian News Service. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019– via Khaleej Times.
  9. ↑ "Death toll from weekend Kabul wedding attack now 80". Agence France-Presse. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019– via The Straits Times.
  10. ↑ "Kabul blast in "Dubai City" wedding hall: 63 killed, 182 wounded". Gulf News. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  11. ↑ Gul, Ayaz (18 August 2019). "Suicide Bombing of Wedding Party in Kabul Killed 63". Voice of America. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  12. ↑ "Fears of many deaths after bomb explodes at Kabul wedding". Radio New Zealand. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  13. 1 2 Mengli, Ahmed; Yusufzai, Mushtaq; Talmazan, Yuliya (18 August 2019). "'The suffering will continue': Groom mourns 63 killed at Afghan wedding amid U.S. withdrawal talks". NBC News . Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  14. ↑ Prokos, Hayley (17 August 2019). "Possibly Hundreds Caught In Blast Inside Wedding Hall In Kabul". Newsweek. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  15. 1 2 3 Mashal, Mujib; Faizi, Fatima; Abed, Fahim (18 August 2019). "One Minute It Was an Afghan Wedding. The Next, a Funeral for 63". The New York Times . Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  16. ↑ Faiez, Rahim; Anna, Cara (18 August 2019). "Islamic State claims bombing at Kabul wedding that killed 63". Associated Press . Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  17. ↑ "Afghanistan: Scores killed in Kabul wedding blast". Al Jazeera. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "ISIS claims Afghan wedding suicide blast that killed 63". Reuters. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019– via The Jerusalem Post.
  19. ↑ "Kabul wedding blast: Groom has 'lost hope' after deadly attack". BBC News . 19 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  20. 1 2 "Islamic State claims responsibility for bombing at Kabul wedding that killed 63". CBS News . 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  21. 1 2 "Taliban reacts to deadly Kabul wedding hall bombing which killed at least 63". Khaama Press. 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  22. ↑ "Afghan president says Taliban can't escape blame for deadly bombing". Reuters. 18 August 2019. Archived from the original on 15 September 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  23. ↑ Ghani, Ashraf [@ashrafghani] (17 August 2019). "Taliban cannot absolve themselves of blame, for they provide platform for terrorists. Today is the day of mourning, hence #StateBuilder have cancelled today's gathering at the Loya Jirga tent" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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