Afghanistan: 1 killed, 5 injured in explosion at award ceremony for journalists

Jalalabad: At least one person was killed and five wounded in a bomb blast on Saturday during an award ceremony for journalists in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Mohammad Asif Waziri, a Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Balkh police, said the explosion occurred at 11 a.m. when journalists had gathered for an award ceremony at the Tabian Farhang Center in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province.

Two days earlier, three people, including a provincial governor, were killed and four injured in a bomb blast in Mazar-i-Sharif. The person who lost his life in Saturday’s accident has not yet been identified, but journalists are among the five injured. These include Najeeb Faryad, reporter of ‘Aryana News’ television channel.

Faryad said that he felt as if something had hit his back. After this there was a loud noise and he fell on the ground. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, a regional organization affiliated with the Islamic State group, is a key rival of the Taliban. The Taliban captured the power of Afghanistan in August 2021, after which the attacks of this organization have increased. Most of these attacks have targeted Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shia minority community.