Bomb at Afghan wedding

[isabellerossignol]

Sadly this is a headline that we see quite often in the news and I was wondering if anyone who knows much more than I do about Afghanistan could explain something.

I'm assuming that there are many many bombs in Afghanistan that we never hear about here? Is it the fact that it is a wedding that makes it make the news here, because it is an eye catching headline? Or is there something specific about weddings that leads them to be targeted? I did wonder if it might be where a couple come from different backgrounds and people are angered by it, but then I wondered if I was just reading something into a situation that isn't actually there?

Afghanistan is such a complex country and I've read what I can in newspapers/websites etc but I know that my knowledge is limited and I don't know where to look for 'good' information.

I have some Pashtun Facebook friends in Afghanistan & Pakistan - there are bombings & shootings every week, by the Afghan & Pakistani Taliban & ISIS; in Afghanistan & certain areas of Pakistan particularly the Northern Pakistan & Balochistan.

Thousands are killed every year yet we hear little about it in the west.

Local correspondents work for BBC world news in Afghanistan & Pakistan.

I know this thread is a bit older but I just stumbled across it looking at this section. I wanted to answer still because like you say, there are bombings every single day in Afghanistan and we just don't hear about them any more in mainstream media. Things like weddings, attacks involving NGOs, westerners etc will still be reported. But not what ordinary Afghans go through day to day.

My DH is Afghan so I do take an interest in what is happening there although it is such a complex situation with many different sides to it. IIRC the incident in your OP was deemed an attack on ethnic minority as the wedding party were Hazaras, but I don't know much more than that.

If you are on Instagram please look up the photographer (or photojournalist I guess he could be called) Andrew Quilty, an Australian who has been photographing incidents and daily life in Afghanistan for a number of years. He often works for the New York Times, National Geographic and many other outlets and provides amazing insight into what is happening over there. His photos can sometimes be harrowing but are always accompanied by insightful text and information that you just don't get in mainstream media. And sometimes they are just wonderful snapshots of daily life and ordinary people which is so nice to see.

There are shootings every day in the USA but we never hear about them.