A shootout at a wedding party in northern Afghanistan left 21 people dead and eight wounded, an official said on Monday.
Abdul Jabar Perdili, police chief of Baghlan province, said a gunfight broke out between two groups attending the wedding in Dih Salah district late Sunday. Most of the dead were wedding guests and at least two of the wounded were younger than 18 years old, AP reported.
Baghlan and other provinces of the north have been plagued by insurgent attacks since the US-led invasion in 2001 that toppled the Taliban. However, the war is often used as a cover for criminal activity and personal feuds.
The police chief of Dih Salah, Col. Gulistan Qasani, said hostility between the two groups involved in the gunfight had been simmering for many years.
“The clash broke out after a relative of a provincial police official was assassinated during the wedding party.”
He said some 400 people had gathered at a private house for the wedding of a local clergy’s son.
“When we collected the bodies, it was difficult to determine who the shooters were, because I could not find any weapons.”
