Afghanistan Journalists Centre (AFJC) has confirmed that a reporter and an intern-journalist from the Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) were killed in a blast that targeted a gathering of journalists in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital city of the northern Balkh province, last Saturday.
The journalist killed has been as Hussain Nadiri, but AFJC has not provided any information about the other victim. However, a source told KabulNow that he had been identified as Akmal Nazari, a journalism student at Balkh University.
AFJC also said that the number of wounded journalists had risen from 16 to 18.
The Islamic State – Khurasan Province (ISKP) has claimed responsibility for the blast that targeted a gathering of journalists at the Tebyan Cultural Centre, an organization with close ties to Iran.
“The blast was aimed at a gathering held within a Shia centre to honor several journalists who work for agencies involved in the war and instigation against IS,” said ISKP via Amaq news agency, which had previously targeted the Kabul branch of the Tebyan centre in 2017, according to a statement.
The attack on journalists came two days after a suicide bomber killed the Taliban’s governor of Balkh province, Dawood Muzammel, and two others inside his office, for which the Islamic State also claimed responsibility.
