Updated at 5:52 p.m. Aug. 17.
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – Authorities in Afghanistan said a massive bomb blast late Saturday inside a packed wedding hall in Kabul “killed and injured dozens of civilians.”
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the bombing in a western part of the Afghan capital. The victims were mostly members of the minority Shiite Hazara community.
Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi confirmed the blast and blamed “enemies of Afghanistan” for plotting the carnage. He did not explain further.
Rahimi said police and ambulances quickly reached the site, and victims were transported to city hospitals. He said the nature of the blast was being determined, and he promised to issue soon an exact casualty toll and other details.
Local journalists quoted survivors as saying they saw dozens of bodies all around the hall following the powerful explosion.
Taliban insurgents routinely carry out attacks against government security forces in Kabul. But almost all recent bombings against the Hazara community in the city have been claimed by Islamic State’s Afghan branch, known as Khorasan Province.
Civilians continue to bear the brunt of the conflict in Afghanistan, where more than 1,500 civilians were killed or wounded in July alone, according to the United Nations.