Suicide Bomb Attack At Afghan Wedding Party

A suicide bomber has detonated explosives at a wedding party in Afghanistan, killing at least 17 people.

At least 43 others were injured in the attack in Aybak, the capital of the northern Samangan province.

The assailant apparently walked into the wedding reception for the daughter of MP Ahmad Khan Samangani and detonated his explosives.

Mr Samangani, who had been a mujahideen chief who fought against the Soviets in the 1980s, and against the Taliban during their rule in the late 1990s, was among the dead.

Reports suggested the bomber had hugged the MP, an ethnic Uzbek, before blowing himself up.

The Uzbeks are part of an uneasy coalition of minority tribes that fight the Taliban in the country's north, but the Islamist group has denied responsibility for the attack.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack in a statement, adding: "The enemies of Afghanistan once again targeted mujahideen figures who strive for national unity."

A number of high-ranking officials attended the wedding party, including the provincial chief of intelligence and an Afghan National Army division commander - both were killed in the bombing.

Among the injured was General Sayed Ahmad Sameh, a western regional commander for the Afghan National Police, and who is also a relative of Mr Samangani.

An official who was helping provide security for the event said most of the guests had gathered on the second and third floors of the three-story wedding hall when the explosion occurred.

"Suddenly, the attacker, who was among the guests... got very close to Samangani. He detonated his suicide vest," the security official said.

"It was a big explosion. There were bloody bodies all around the first floor. The explosion was so strong. There were people even on the third floor who were wounded."

Mr Samangani became a member of parliament last year and was considered a key leader in northern Afghanistan.