Kabul: 63 killed, 180 injured during blast at wedding

Kabul, Aug 18: At least 63 people were killed and 180 others injured after a suicide bomber detonated explosives that ripped through a wedding in Kabul's Darulaman area on Saturday.

According to the Afghan Interior Ministry, the explosion took place at around 10:40 pm during a wedding party at a hotel in Afghanistan's capital.

"The killed and injured were shifted by police and Kabul ambulance to hospitals. The nature of the blast and the exact number of killed and injured will be shared with media later," interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi wrote on Twitter.

There are dead among the casualties, Rahimi said, though he did not have exact numbers.

About 20 people were taken to a Kabul hospital run by the Italian NGO Emergency, according to a tweet posted by the organization.

According to the reports, dozens of people were inside the wedding hall when the explosion occurred near the stage of the two-story building.

However, no further details about the blast or casualties were immediately available.

The explosion comes at a time when the US and the Taliban are expected to sign off on a deal that would see American troops begin to depart Afghanistan in return for various security assurances from the insurgents.

Earlier this month, 14 people were killed and 145 injured in the same district when three suicide attackers detonated an improvised explosive device at the gate of the police headquarters.