Afghan men investigate in a wedding hall after a deadly bomb blast in Kabul on August 18, 2019. More than 60 people were killed and scores wounded in an explosion targeting a wedding in the Afghan capital, authorities said on August 18, the deadliest attack in Kabul in recent months. Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

Joy and celebration turned into horror and carnage when an Islamic State suicide bomber targeted a packed Afghan wedding hall, killing at least 63 people in the deadliest attack to rock Kabul in months, officials and witnesses said Sunday.

The massive blast, which took place late Saturday in west Kabul, underscores both the inadequacy of Afghanistan’s security forces and the scale of the problem they face as Washington and the Taliban finalise a deal to reduce the US military presence in Afghanistan and hopefully build a roadmap to a ceasefire.

The groom recalled greeting smiling guests in the afternoon, before seeing their bodies being carried out hours later.

The attack “changed my happiness to sorrow”, the young man, who gave his name as Mirwais, told local TV station Tolo News.

“My family, my bride are in shock, they cannot even speak. My bride keeps fainting,” he said.

“I lost my brother, I lost my friends, I lost my relatives. I will never see happiness in my life again.”