Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani (centre,front) attends the celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the country’s Independence Day in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan.    --Photo Xinhua

Afghan president vows to combat terrorism in Independence Day speech

KABUL (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has pledged to fight against terrorism until the menace of terror networks were dismantled.
“This is our firm commitment to fight against Daesh (Islamic State group) and other terrorist networks until they are utterly smashed,” Ghani said in a speech marking the 100th anniversary of the country’s Independence Day.
On Saturday night, a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a wedding hall in western Kabul, leaving at least 63 dead and 182 others injured, including women and children. The IS group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, the Taliban outfit has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan over the past couple of months. President Ghani also vowed to take revenge for every Afghan citizen killed by the terrorist groups.

(Latest Update August 21, 2019)