JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN (AP) – A bomb exploded yesterday during an award ceremony for journalists in Afghanistan’s Mazar-e- Sharif city, killing at least one person and wounded five others, a Taleban police spokesman said.
The blast occurred at the Tabian Farhang centre in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, as journalists gathered for the award event at 11am, said Taleban-appointed spokesman for Balkh police Mohammad Asif Waziri.
It came two days after a bomb in Mazar-e-Sharif killed the provincial governor Daud Muzmal and two others. Four were wounded.
The identify of the fatality in yesterday’s blast was not immediately known but journalists were among the five wounded. They included Najeeb Faryad, a reporter for Aryana News television station, who said he felt like something hit him in the back, followed by a deafening sound before he fell to the ground.
No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group – known as the Islamic State in Khorasan province – is a key rival of the Taleban.
The militant group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taleban takeover of the country in August 2021.
