JALALABAD, Afghanistan — At least 20 mourners were killed when a suicide bomber struck a funeral Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, according to Afghan officials.
Local elders put the death toll even higher, 35 or more, with scores wounded, overwhelming local hospitals.
The bomber, who was on foot, struck during a funeral for a businessman in the Durbaba district of Nangarhar Province. The area is populated by members of the Shinwari tribe, which has been engaged in long-standing internal tribal warfare, as well as conflict with Taliban insurgents in the mountainous area.
Malik Usman, a prominent Shinwari leader, said the intended victim was probably the district governor, who was attending the ceremony and was wounded in the attack. Mr. Usman put the number of dead at 35 and the wounded at 45. The BBC reported that the district governor’s son was among the dead.
A statement released by the Interior Ministry, which put the dead at 20 and wounded at more than 50, condemned the attack as “terrorist, inhuman and un-Islamic.” It refrained from accusing any faction of carrying out the attack.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, reached by telephone at an undisclosed location, denied the insurgents were involved. “We are not claiming credit for the attack, though we have a strong presence in the area,” he said. “What we think, based on our investigations, is that it could be an attack based on personal or tribal disputes.”
Local elders put the death toll even higher, 35 or more, with scores wounded, overwhelming local hospitals.
The bomber, who was on foot, struck during a funeral for a businessman in the Durbaba district of Nangarhar Province. The area is populated by members of the Shinwari tribe, which has been engaged in long-standing internal tribal warfare, as well as conflict with Taliban insurgents in the mountainous area.
Malik Usman, a prominent Shinwari leader, said the intended victim was probably the district governor, who was attending the ceremony and was wounded in the attack. Mr. Usman put the number of dead at 35 and the wounded at 45. The BBC reported that the district governor’s son was among the dead.
A statement released by the Interior Ministry, which put the dead at 20 and wounded at more than 50, condemned the attack as “terrorist, inhuman and un-Islamic.” It refrained from accusing any faction of carrying out the attack.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, reached by telephone at an undisclosed location, denied the insurgents were involved. “We are not claiming credit for the attack, though we have a strong presence in the area,” he said. “What we think, based on our investigations, is that it could be an attack based on personal or tribal disputes.”