KABUL (Dispatches) – At least 35 civilians attending a wedding have been killed and 13 people wounded by explosions and gunfire during a raid by Afghan government forces on a nearby militant hideout, officials have said.
The officials said a house being used by the Taliban to train bombers was located adjacent to the bride’s home, which came under fire during the attack.
A senior Afghan defense ministry official said the raid was against "a foreign terrorist group actively engaged in organizing terrorist attacks”. "During the operation, a large warehouse of the terrorists’ supplies and equipment was also demolished,” the official said.
A second defense ministry official said a foreign militant detonated a vest that killed him and others around him. "The compound was being used to train men and women who were willing to become suicide bombers; we raided it. We are aware that civilians were injured in the attack,” he said.
Attaullah Afghan, a member of the Helmand provincial council, said 35 people attending the wedding party near the attack site in the Khaksar area of Musa Qala district were killed and 13 were injured. A second provincial council member, Abdul Majid Akhundzadah, said 40 civilians were killed.
The defense ministry said the Taliban hideout was also used by foreign nationals working for the militants.
"As a result of a joint operation in Musa Qala district of Helmand, 22 Taliban members were killed and 14 others arrested,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that five Pakistanis and one Bangladeshi national were among those arrested.
The Taliban also reported the incident, saying Afghan troops backed by U.S. forces had carried out an overnight airstrike on the area, which was followed by clashes on the ground between the two sides.
The militant group also said in a statement that 18 Afghan soldiers had been killed in the fight.
Afghanistan continues to be plagued by militancy and violence more than 18 years into a US-led invasion of the country, with civilians being the main victims.
In July, the United Nations said civilians were being killed and wounded at a "shocking” level in Afghanistan. It said that at least 3,812 Afghan civilians had been killed or injured in the first half of 2019.
In recent weeks, there has been a sharp rise in violence across Afghanistan as people in the war-stricken country prepare to choose a new president on September 28.