63 killed, 182 wounded in Kabul wedding blast: Official

More than 60 people were killed and scores wounded in an explosion targeting a wedding in Afghan capital, authorities said Sunday, deliest attack in Kabul in recent months.

blast, which took place late Saturday in city's west, came as Washington and Taliban are in final sts of a deal to reduce US military presence in Afghanistan. Taliban denied any involvement in attack.

Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said at least 63 people h been killed and 182 wounded. 

"Among wounded are women and children," Rahimi said.

Afghan weddings are epic and vibrant affairs, with hundreds or often thousands of guests celebrating for hours inside industrial-scale wedding halls where men are usually segregated from women and children.

In aftermath of Saturday's attack ims from inside hall showed blood-stained bodies on ground along with pieces of flesh and torn clos, hats, sandals and bottles of mineral water.

RE: Independence Day Speech: PM Modi Lays Down India's Stand On Terrorism, Has A Special Mess For Afghanistan

wedding was believed to be a Shia garing. Shia Muslims are frequently targeted in Sunni-majority Afghanistan, particularly by so-called Islamic State group, which is also active in Kabul but did t immediately issue any claim of responsibility.

Mohamm Farhag, who h been at wedding, told AFP he h been in women's section when he heard a huge blast in men's area.

"Everyone ran outside shouting and crying," he said. "For about 20 minutes hall was full of smoke. Almost everyone in men's section is eir de or wounded." 

Two hours after blast, he said bodies were still being removed from hall. Insurgents have periodically struck Afghan weddings, which are seen as easy targets because y frequently lack rigorous security precautions.

On July 12, at least six people were killed when a suicide bomber attacked a wedding ceremony in eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. IS, which has a growing footprint in region, claimed blast.

Expectations are rising for a deal in which United States would start withdrawing its approximately 14,000 soldiers from Afghanistan after a two-dece war that has turned into a stalemate.

RE: Donald Trump Meets Top visers To Discuss Progress Of Afghan Peace Deal

In return, Taliban would commit to various security guarantees, including that Islamist hardliners who long harboured Al-Qaeda would t allow Afghanistan to once again become a jihist safe haven.

Many Afghans fear deal could see Taliban return to some form of power, eroding hard-won rights for women in particular, or country descend furr into a brutal civil war.

On Friday, Ahmullah Azkhundza, bror of Afghan Taliban leer Haibatullah Akhundza, was among four people killed in a blast at a mosque in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan, a senior official with provincial government said.