ISIS attacks Afghan wedding killing 63 people and wounding 180.

The groom survived the blast but many of his relatives and friends died. BBC/Reuters. 

An ISIS attack on an Afghan wedding has killed 63 people and wounded 180 more. BBC. The groom, Mirwais Elmi, survived the attack along with his new wife, but he lost his brother and many other relative and friends. The attack occurred in Kabul in a Shia district. One man blew himself up inside the wedding while another detonated a car bomb when emergency services arrived. Both the Afghan government and the Taliban have condemned the attack. 

My Comment:

I don't have the time to go in depth with this post but I did think it was important to mention this attack. It isn't getting too much play in the media and considering the scale of what happened and how awful it was, that is a mistake. This is the most serious ISIS attack since the Sri Lanka attack earlier this year. 

It seems like this was a fairly sophisticated attack. The first bomber detonated during the ceremony while the second attacked the first responders. This is a common tactic for ISIS and one that has been fairly effective. It was devastating in this attack. 

The choice of target is significant as well. This looks like another hate crime against Shia Muslims carried out by ISIS. There wasn't any real strategic reason to do this other than to spread terror against Shiites. Shia Muslims have been a major target for ISIS since their inception. 

I also have to say it's pretty disgusting to attack a wedding. I understand that they are easy targets with many people crowded together and are especially vulnerable to bombings like this, but still. Attacking a wedding, which is supposed to be the happiest day of a young couple's life, is just beyond the pale. 

As for Afghanistan itself, it just goes to show as the war seems to finally be winding down, peace won't really come to the country. Even if the Afghan government, America and the Taliban come to some agreement, ISIS will have their own say in it. They will continue to attack in Afghanistan as long as it remains one of their only remaining strongholds.