ISIL attacks Kabul gathering, killing at least 32

ISIL opened fire at a ceremony in Kabul on March 6, killing at least 32 people in the first major attack in the city since the United States reached an agreement with the Afghan Taliban on a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops.

A top Afghan political leader, Abdullah Abdullah, was present along with other key political figures and escaped unharmed.

Some 81 people were wounded, a government spokesman said, adding that the death toll could rise.

ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack, the group's Amaq news agency reported on its telegram channel.

The Taliban, who were ousted from power by U.S.-led troops in 2001, denied involvement almost immediately.

The gathering marked the 25th anniversary of the death of Abdul Ali Mazari, an ethnic Hazara leader who was killed in 1995 after being taken prisoner by the Taliban. 

Several people were killed in a similar attack on the same commemoration last year, which ISIL had also claimed.

"The attack started with a boom, apparently a rocket landed in the area, Abdullah and some other politicians ... escaped the attack unhurt," Abdullah's spokesman, Fraidoon Kwazoon, who was also present, told Reuters by telephone.

Broadcaster Tolo News showed live footage of people running for cover as gunfire was heard.

Afghan defense forces continued to fight gunmen throughout the day, finally securing the area by killing about three gunmen in the late afternoon, according to the ministry of interior spokesman Nasrat Rahimi.

President Ashraf Ghani tweeted that the attack was "a crime against humanity and against the national unity of Afghanistan".

Abdullah was runner-up in the last three Afghan presidential elections, each of which he disputed. He has served as chief...