Nadahan wedding bombing

Nadahan wedding bombing
Location Nadahan, Arghandab District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
Coordinates Coordinates: 31°38′48″N 65°35′11″E / 31.64667°N 65.58639°E / 31.64667; 65.58639
Date 9 June 2010 (2010-06-09)
16:30 (UTC)
Attack type
 Suicide attack
Deaths 40[1]
Non-fatal injuries
 77[1]

The Nadahan wedding bombing was a suicide attack on a wedding party, which occurred on 9 June 2010 at around 21:00 local time (16:30 GMT) in the village of Nadahan in Arghandab District of the Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The attack killed at least 40 people and wounded at least 77 others, making it one of the worst suicide attacks of the year.

One source described the attack as "the most lethal attack in the south in recent memory."[2]

Explosion

The explosion occurred in a men-only area of the wedding party[3] where guests were eating.[4] A white-clothed boy under 13 walked in and approached within 15 feet of the dinner tables before fiddling with the bomb attached to his vest.[5] There was a ball of fire and smoke.[4] The female guests were in another building.[4] Some of those killed were children.[3] The groom was wounded[3] and his brother killed.[5]

At least three police officers from Afghanistan were at the wedding.[4] Others suggested the attack was intended for 17 of the guests who were members of an anti-Taliban guard group, which had once been encouraged by the United States Special Operations Forces before they gave up on it.[6] Blood donations were requested via television.[3] The coffins of the dead were lined adjacent to the mortuary.[3]

Investigation

A group of investigators was sent to the village by Afghanistan's Interior Ministry.[5]

NATO issued a statement claiming none of their soldiers were behind it.[4] The Taliban were instead blamed by the NATO troops; however, the Taliban has stated that they were not responsible for the attack,[3] even condemning it as "a brutal act".[3] Deputy commander of NATO forces, Lt. Gen. Nick Parker, described it as "ruthless violence" and claimed these were "sickening and indiscriminate tactics to try to intimidate the citizens of Afghanistan".[4]

A military spokesperson representing the United States said the attack had not been an airstrike carried out by his country.[4] He dismissed speculation to the contrary as "Taliban misinformation".[4]

Response

President Hamid Karzai stated his condemnation and requested "a thorough investigation".[4] Karzai, in the presence of the United Kingdom's Prime Minister David Cameron (who was visiting Afghanistan for the first official time), labelled it "a crime of massive inhuman proportions".[7]

Tooryalai Wesa, governor of the Kandahar Province, spoke at a news conference in Nadahan after the attack had happened and demonstrated a piece of metal he had found which he said resembled a suicide bomb.[4]

United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura said it was an "outrageous act" and that "to specifically target people who were gathering at a moment of happiness to celebrate a wedding shows a total disregard for civilian life".[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Fox David and Popeski, Ron (10 June 2010). "Dozens killed by blast at Afghan wedding party". The Star (Malaysia). Star Publications. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  2. ↑ Fisher, Matthew (11 June 2010). "Bombing at Afghan wedding kills 40: Ten children among victims; Taliban denies suicide attack in district targeted by NATO". Ottawa Citizen. Canwest. Archived from the original on 15 June 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Afghanistan blast at Nadahan wedding a 'suicide bomb'". BBC News. BBC. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Khan, Mirwais (10 June 2010). "Suicide attack kills 40 at Afghan wedding party". The Washington Post. The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Rodriguez, Alex (11 June 2010). "Young Afghan suicide bomber approached wedding guests". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  6. ↑ "Afghan wedding attacks aimed at anti-Taliban guests: report". Hindustan Times. India: HT Media Ltd. 11 June 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
  7. ↑ "Karzai condemns Nadahan bombing". Aljazeera. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
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