Afghanistan vows to crush IS havens after attack

KABUL, Aug 19 (AP): Afghanistan's president on Monday vowed to "eliminate" all safe havens of the Islamic State group as the country marked a subdued 100th Independence Day after a horrific wedding attack claimed by the local IS affiliate.

President Ashraf Ghani's comments came as Afghanistan mourns at least 63 people, including children, killed in the Kabul bombing at a wedding hall late Saturday night. Close to 200 others were wounded.

Many outraged Afghans ask whether an approaching deal between the United States and the Taliban to end nearly 18 years of fighting - America's longest war - will bring peace to long-suffering civilians.

The bomber detonated his explosives in the middle of a dancing crowd, and the IS affiliate later said he had targeted a gathering of minority Shiites, whom it views as apostates deserving of death.

Both the bride and groom survived, and in an emotional interview with local broadcaster TOLOnews the distraught groom, Mirwais Alani, said their lives were devastated within seconds. Even as victims' loved ones mourned, there were fears that funerals and memorials could be targeted, too.

A sharply worded Taliban statement questioned why the U.S. failed to identify Saturday's attacker in advance. Another Taliban statement marking the independence day said to "leave Afghanistan to the Afghans."

More than anything in their nearly year-long negotiations with the U.S., the Taliban want some 20,000 U.S. and allied forces to withdraw from the country.

The U.S. for its part wants Taliban assurances that Afghanistan - which hosted al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden before 9/11 - will not be a launching pad for global terror attacks.