Islamic State claims responsibility for attack on journalists in Afghanistan

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a blast that occurred on Saturday in the Balkh region of Afghanistan in which one person was killed and eight others were injured as per local media reports. The explosion struck a cultural centre in Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of the Balkh province, in northern Afghanistan where a gathering of journalists was taking place, according to the Islamic State's Telegram account as reported by Afghanistan-based Khaama Press.

According to Mohammad Asif Waziri, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for Balkh police, the blast happened at the Tebyan Farhang centre in the Balkh province's capital city of Mazar-e Sharif around 11 a.m., while journalists were assembling for the award ceremony. The incident has reportedly left at least one person dead and eight others injured. However, the Tebyan Cultural Centre reported, "Three persons were killed, and 30 others, including journalists, were injured in the incident".

This was the second incident of blast in the Balkh province in three days; the first was a suicide bombing that claimed the life of Mullah Dawood Muzmal, the governor of Balkh, according to Khaama News. For both incidents, the Islamic State claimed responsibility.

Muzmal was killed by the enemies of Islam: Taliban spokesperson

Muzmal was killed, according to the Taliban's main spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, "by the enemies of Islam." He stated that an inquiry is ongoing but offered no other information. Since the Taliban seized power in the middle of August 2021 as the U.S. and NATO forces retreated from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, Muzmal is one of the most senior Taliban officials to have been assassinated.

The Taliban-led government's biggest adversary, IS-Khorasan, targets Taliban leaders as well as locals and foreigners. Attacks by the group on the Afghan provinces of Balkh, Herat, and Kabul have recently increased.

The extremist Islamic State of Khorasan (ISK) and other militants have ferociously attacked Kabul city and other locations, despite the Taliban's claims that the country's fight is over. According to Richard Bennett, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on the state of human rights in Afghanistan, the attack on journalists in Mazar-e-Sharif is a blow to the right to free speech, according to Khaama Press.

Bennett stated that he is keenly watching the attack on the event at the Tebyan Cultural Center in Mazar-e-Sharif intended to honour journalists. More security measures for journalists in Afghanistan are required, according to the UN Special Rapporteur.

Since the Taliban seized control of the country in August 2021, the militant group has upped its attacks here. Taliban patrols and Shiite Afghans have both been targeted in the past.