Islamic State – Khurasan Province (ISKP) has claimed responsibility for the blast which targeted a gathering of journalists at a cultural centre in Mazar-e-Sharif, capital of Balkh province, on Saturday.
The widely condemned attack on Tebyan Cultural Centre left at least 30 people dead and 30 wounded, including 16 journalists.
According to Voice of America, the Islamic State, in a statement via Amaq news agency, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had detonated a ‘parcel bomb’ at the centre where a group of journalists had gathered for a ceremony.
“The blast targeted a rally held inside a Shiite center to reward several journalists working in agencies involved in the war and instigation against IS,” the statement is quoted to have said.
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.
It is not the first time the organisation has been targeted. In 2017, an attack on a Tebyan gathering in Kabul killed at least 40 people and was claimed by the Islamic State.
