At least 21 people were killed at a wedding in Afghanistan's northern province of Baghlan on Sunday, when a gunfight erupted amongst the guests. The victims were all males, some as young as 14, Agence France Press reported.
Although officials are still conducting investigations, the shooting seemed to have been sparked by an argument between some of the armed men in attendance.
"A local security official fired in the air after the verbal exchange heated up ... and then both sides started trading fire," district police chief Gulistan Qusani told the Associated Press.
Grand celebrations and weddings used to be a common occurrence in the region, but are less common since violence and insecurity are reported to be on the rise since the Taliban started to spread north from his strongholds in the east of the country.
Armed men at Afghan weddings are also common, as the the attendees use the guns to fire celebratory shots.
In December, 17 people were killed when Afghan soldiers fire mortars at a wedding party. At the time, witnesses said the the army mistook the the celebratory gunshots at the wedding for enemy fire.