Afghan wedding party attack kills 13, including MP

MAZAR-I-SHARIF: A suicide attack on Saturday at a wedding party in northern Afghanistan killed at least 13 people, including a prominent local lawmaker, officials said.

The attacker was on foot and detonated his explosives at the wedding party of the daughter of the Afghan MP in Aybak, the capital of Samangan province, Sediq Azizi, a spokesman for the provincial authorities, told AFP.

A doctor at Samangan central hospital said 13 bodies had been brought in, as well as 60 wounded people.

"We have received 13 dead bodies and 60 wounded people so far," doctor Mansor Fayez, head of Samangan hospital, told AFP.

"The dead include MP Ahmad Khan and the head of intelligence of Samangan," he said.

A spokesman for security forces in northern Afghanistan said around 20 people were killed and more than 100 others wounded in the attack.

The attacker hugged the lawmaker before detonating the explosives around his waist, said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for security forces in northern Afghanistan.

"So far we have 22 people, including Ahmad Khan killed, and more than 100 others wounded," he said.

The wedding was attended by high-ranking government officials, he said.

Khan was a lawmaker and former militia commander from Samangan province. An ethnic Uzbek, he had served as a commander during the decades of conflict in Afghanistan.