Afghanistan vows to crush Islamic State havens after Kabul wedding attack

Afghanistan's president on Monday vowed to "eliminate" all safe havens of Islamic State group as country marked a subdued 100th Independence Day after a horrific wedding attack claimed by local IS affiliate.

President Ashraf Ghani's comments came as Afghanistan mourns at least 63 people, including children, killed in Kabul bombing at a wedding hall late Saturday night. Close to 200 ors were wounded.

Many outrd Afghans ask wher an approaching deal between United States and Taliban to end nearly 18 years of fighting  America's longest war  will bring peace to long-suffering civilians.

bomber detonated his explosives in middle of a dancing crowd, and IS affiliate later said he h targeted a garing of mirity Shiites, whom it views as apostates deserving of death.

Both bride and groom survived, and in an emotional interview with local brocaster TOLOnews distraught groom, Mirwais Alani, said ir lives were devastated within seconds.

A sharply worded Taliban statement questioned why US failed to identify attackers in vance. Ar Taliban statement marking independence day said to "leave Afghanistan to Afghans."

More than anything in its nearly year-long negotiations with US, Taliban want some 20,000 US and allied forces to withdraw from country.

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US envoy in talks with Taliban, Zalmay Khalilz, on Sunday said peace process should be accelerated to help Afghanistan defeat IS affiliate.

But Ghani on Monday asserted that Taliban, whom US w hopes will help to curb IS affiliate's rise, are just as much to blame.

His government is openly frustrated at being sidelined from US talks with insurgent group, which regards Afghan government as a US puppet.

Taliban "have created platform for terrorists" with its own brutal assaults on schools, mosques and or public places over years, president said.

More than 32,000 civilians in Afghanistan have been killed in past dece, United Nations said earlier this year.

More children were killed last year  927  than in any or over past dece by all actors, UN said, including in operations against insurgent hideouts carried out international forces.

"We will take revenge for every civilian drop of blood," Ghani declared. "Our struggle will continue against (IS), we will take revenge and will root m out." He urged international community to join those efforts.

He asserted that safe havens for militants are across border in Pakistan, whose intelligence service has long been accused of supporting Taliban. IS affiliate's claim of wedding attack said it was carried out by a Pakistani fighter seeking martyrdom.

Ghani called on people in Pakistan "who very much want peace" to help identify IS safe havens re.

Last month after meeting with President Donald Trump, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan insisted he will do his best to persue Taliban to open negotiations with Afghan government to resolve war.

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Trump on Sunday told reporters he doesn't want Afghanistan to be a "laboratory for terror." He was briefed on Friday on progress of US-Taliban talks, of which few details have emerged.

In a mess marking Afghanistan's independence and "century of resilience," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called weekend wedding bombing "an attack against humanity." It was one of many international expressions of condemnation pouring in following attack