Jawed Kargar/EPA
A man surveys the scene of a suicide bomb attack targeting the wedding ceremony of the daughter of Ahmad Khan Samangani, an Afghan parliamentarian, in Aybak.
At least 22 people are dead and more than 40 people wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a wedding reception for the daughter of a prominent politician in Afghanistan Saturday, according to reports.
Ahmad Khan Samangani, a member of the Afghan parliament, was hosting the celebration in a crowded hall in the southwestern Afghan village of Aybak when the explosion occurred, reported the BBC.
The bomber reportedly posed as a guest and detonated the bomb just after embracing Samangani, who was killed by the blast.
"It was a big explosion. There were bloody bodies all around the first floor,? Mohammad Nawab Sherzai, the criminal investigations director in Aybak, told the Associated Press. ?The explosion was so strong. There were people even on the third floor who were wounded."
The explosion left several other notable members of Afghan society dead, including Mohammad Khan, the provincial intelligence chief, and a senior regional police commander, the Associated Press reports.
The Taliban has denied responsibility for the blast.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the organization, said that Samangani may have been targeted because of his past.
Samangani served as a commander of the mujahedeen militia in the 1990s during the Afghan civil war.
"Ahmad Khan was a former commander of the mujahedeen, he was notorious, and many people could have had problems with him," Mujahid told Reuters.
Samangani was a well-known supporter of President Hamid Karzai and an opponent of Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, an influential Uzbek politician, according to BBC reporter Bilal Sarwary.
Karzai condemned the suicide bombing in a statement Saturday, saying it was "carried out by the enemies of Afghanistan."
The bombing is the latest in a string of attacks that have occured during one of the country's deadliest months.
A well-known female Afghan politician, Hanafa Safi, was killed after a bombing in eastern Laghman province Friday.
Safi served as the provincial head of the Afghan ministry of women's affairs.
Many fear that violence will increase when American combat troops leave the region in 2014.
Approximately 130,000 members of the NATO-led force are expected to pull out that year.
croberts@nydailynews.com
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