Non-fatal injuries 77 Location Arghandab District Attack type Suicide attack | Start date June 9, 2010 Total number of deaths 40 Location Arghandab District | |
Similar 2007 Baghlan sugar fact, 2008 Kandahar bombing, 22 August 2015 Kabul suicide b, 2015 Khost suicide bombing, 2008 Kabul Serena Hotel atta | ||
The Nadahan wedding bombing was a suicide attack on a wedding party, which occurred on 9 June 2010 at around 21:00 local time (16:30 GMT) in the village of Nadahan in Arghandab District of the Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The attack killed at least 40 people and wounded at least 77 others, making it one of the worst suicide attacks of the year.
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One source described the attack as "the most lethal attack in the south in recent memory."
Explosion
The enormous explosion occurred in a men-only area of the wedding party. They were all sitting down and eating at the time of the event. A white-clothed boy under the age of 13 wandered in and approached within 15 feet of the dinner tables before fiddling with the bomb attached to his vest, causing a chaotic scene. There was a ball of fire and some smoke. The women were elsewhere, inside another building. Some of those killed were children. The groom was among the wounded. His brother died. His bride remained unharmed throughout the incident.
At least three police officers from Afghanistan were involved in the wedding. Others suggested the attack was intended for 17 of the guests who were members of an anti-Taliban guard group, which had once been encouraged by the American Special Operations Forces before they gave up on it. Blood donations were requested via television. The coffins of the dead were lined adjacent to the mortuary.
Investigation
A group of investigators was sent to the village by Afghanistan's Interior Ministry.
Perpetrator
NATO issued a statement claiming none of their soldiers were behind it. The Taliban were instead blamed by the NATO troops; however, the Taliban has stated that they were not responsible for the attack, even condemning it as "a brutal act". Deputy commander of NATO forces, Lt. Gen. Nick Parker, described it as "ruthless violence" and claimed these were "sickening and indiscriminate tactics to try to intimidate the citizens of Afghanistan".
A military spokesperson representing the United States said the attack had not been an airstrike carried out by his country. He dismissed speculation to the contrary as "Taliban misinformation".
Response
President Hamid Karzai stated his condemnation and requested "a thorough investigation". Karzai, in the presence of the United Kingdom's Prime Minister David Cameron (who was visiting Afghanistan for the first official time), labelled it "a crime of massive inhuman proportions".
Tooryalai Wesa, governor of the Kandahar Province, spoke at a news conference in Nadahan after the attack had happened and demonstrated a piece of metal he had found which he said resembled a suicide bomb.
United Nations Special Representative for Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura said it was an "outrageous act" and that "to specifically target people who were gathering at a moment of happiness to celebrate a wedding shows a total disregard for civilian life".