Islamic State claims responsibility for Kabul wedding hall blast

Ths Islamic State (IS) on Sunday claimed the responsibility for the suicide attack on a wedding here that claimed the lives of 63 people and injured more than 180 others.

The statement issued by Islamic State's local affiliate after the attack included an image of a young man carrying an assault rifle with a text describing him as a Pakistani named Abu Asim, saying that he attacked a gathering of "rejecter polytheists" - a term used by some extremist Sunni Muslims to describe the followers of the Shiite branch of Islam, reported The Washington Post.

The incident occurred on Saturday night at the Dubai City wedding hall located in a western Kabul neighborhood that is home to many in the country's minority Shiite Hazara community. Sources and eyewitnesses said that the hall was packed with guests when the explosion occurred. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals.

According to an Afghan-based journalist Bilal Sarwary, it was a Hazara wedding, which was targeted by a suicide bomber.

Earlier today, the Taliban had denied any involvement in the attack and condemned it as "forbidden and unjustifiable." The group's claims were slammed by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

"Taliban cannot absolve themselves of blame, for they provide a platform for terrorists. Today is the day of mourning, hence #StateBuilder have canceled today's gathering at the Loya Jirga tent," Ghani had tweeted.