By RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan
August 21, 2019
The death toll from a suicide bomb attack on a wedding party in Kabul last week has risen to 80, two senior Afghan officials said on August 21.
The initial death toll after the August 17 explosion was 63, but some of the wounded had died in hospital, said Nasrat Rahimi, an Interior Ministry spokesman.
“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 (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack on a huge wedding reception at a hotel in western Kabul.
The attack was the 17th to take place in Kabul since the beginning of the year and the second deadliest one in August alone.
At least 193 people have died and nearly 900 others have been injured in the attacks.
The attack came with Washington and the Taliban reportedly nearing a deal to end the nearly 18-year war
With reporting by Reuters and dpa