Suicide attack on Syria wedding kills 34

A suicide bomber has struck a wedding in northeast Syria as the bride and groom were exchanging vows, killing 34 people and wounding dozens, the local Kurdish government said.

The bomber blew himself up late Monday in the village of Tall Tawil in Hasakah province where a Kurdish party official was getting married.
Daesh claimed the attack, saying that one of its members had fired on a gathering near Hasakah city before blowing himself up, though it did not mention a wedding.
Rows of seats in the hall that hosted the party were still covered in blood on Tuesday morning when an AFP photographer visited the scene.
Broken tiles littered the floor and torn fabric hung from the ceiling. A thick layer of dust covered a sound mixer and keyboard.
“As the bride and groom were exchanging their vows I saw a man wearing a thick black jacket pass beside me,” a witness named Ahmad said. “I thought he looked strange and a few seconds later there was an enormous explosion.
Wedding photographer Walid Mohammad said he was taking pictures of the party when he felt a huge explosion. “I saw so many people die — small kids, old people.”
The local Kurdish administration said 34 people had been killed and around 90 wounded, among them women and children.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor that relies on a network of sources inside the country, gave a higher toll of 36 dead including 11 children.
Both the groom and bride were safe, but the groom’s father and brother were killed in the attack, a relative told AFP.
“The groom’s wounds are light, and he and his new wife are staying at a relative’s home. He doesn’t want to see anyone,” he said.
“They are really shaken up by this.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein warned Russia on Tuesday over the use of incendiary weapons in Syria’s besieged enclave of eastern Aleppo, and said crimes by one side did not justify illegal acts by the other.
Zeid said the situation in Aleppo demanded bold new initiatives “including proposals to limit the use of the veto by the permanent members of the Security Council,” which would enable the UN body to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.
“Such a referral would be more than justified given the rampant and deeply shocking impunity that has characterized the conflict and the magnitude of the crimes that have been committed, some of which may indeed amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Zeid said in a statement.
Syria’s government and its allies had undertaken a “pattern of attacks” against targets with special protection under international humanitarian law, including medical units, aid workers and water-pumping stations, he said.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the US isn’t abandoning its pursuit of peace in Syria despite suspending US-Russian talks on a cease-fire.
But he didn’t outline any new strategy to replace efforts with the Russians. Kerry said Washington and Moscow would still discuss Syria as part of larger multilateral negotiations. But, Kerry said, the US is outraged that Russia has turned a blind eye to the Syrian government’s use of chlorine gas and barrel bombs.
He said Russia has rejected diplomacy and chosen to pursue a military victory over rebels.
Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit called for an “urgent cease-fire” in Aleppo to allow the flow of humanitarian aid to residents.
“What is happening in this city... is carnage,” Abul Gheit told an emergency meeting of representatives of the 22 members of the Cairo-based Arab League. Abul Gheit said due to this latest development Arab nations must try to secure an “urgent cease-fire” for Aleppo.
Turkey will make a proposal to revive the cease-fire deal and President Tayyip Erdogan may speak by telephone on the issue with US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan’s spokesman said.

Source: Arab News