Six dead as Taliban-fired shell hits Afghan wedding: officials

KABUL: A mortar bomb fired by the Taliban struck a wedding ceremony in a province north of the Afghan capital, killing at least six people including women and children, officials said on Sunday.

The incident happened late Saturday in Kapisa province when a shell aimed at an army checkpoint hit a house where a crowd had gathered for a wedding, officials said.

"Six civilians were killed and four were wounded when a Taliban terrorist rocket hit a wedding ceremony in Kapisa province," defence ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said on Twitter.

The dead included women and children, said Kapisa governor's spokesman Shayeq Shoresh, who also blamed the Taliban for the attack.

He said the insurgents had aimed the mortar at an army checkpoint but the round missed the target and hit the wedding ceremony.

The insurgents denied they had fired the shell and instead blamed government forces for firing the mortar.

On Sunday, the interior ministry further accused the Taliban of killing nearly 250 civilians and wounding more than 500 in roadside bomb blasts and other attacks over the past month.

The Taliban deny killing civilians, but roadside bombs planted to target security forces often end up doing just that.

On Saturday, at least four people including two university lecturers were killed and several others were wounded when a roadside bomb struck their bus in the Parwan province, north of Kabul.

Violence has soared in recent weeks as government forces and the Taliban clash in near-daily battles across the rugged countryside.

Even as violence surges, the US military continues to withdraw its remaining 2,500 troops from Afghanistan.

Last month, President Joe Biden ordered the US military to complete the exit of all troops by September 11, which will wrap up US on-the-ground involvement in a war that began nearly 20 years ago following the September 11, 2001 attacks by Al-Qaeda.