Three individuals, including the Taliban governor of Balkh province in northern Afghanistan, were killed in the blast, according to authorities.
“A police official, Asif Waziri, reported that an explosion this morning resulted in the murder of two individuals, including Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, the governor of Balkh.”
In Mazar-i-Sharif, the provincial capital, Waziri claimed the explosion took place on the second level of his workplace.
It was an act of suicide. He said that they were unaware of how the suicide bomber had managed to enter the governor’s office, and that two more individuals had sustained injuries.
Although no one immediately claimed credit for the bombing, the ISIL group’s regional affiliate is a major foe of the Taliban government.
The execution of Muzammil, who was well-known for his opposition to ISIL in the local community, took place the day after he had met with important government officials during his visit from Kabul.
Muzammil is now among the highest-ranking individuals to have died since the Taliban retook power in 2021 as a result of the murder.
Security Situation in Afghanistan Deteriorates Following Multiple ISIS Strikes Despite Decrease in Violence Under Taliban Rule
Before his transfer to Balkh last year, Muzammil fought against ISIL as the governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar.
According to a government statement, he met two deputy prime ministers and other top officials on Wednesday who were in Balkh to examine a significant irrigation project in northern Afghanistan.
Since last year, the ISIL has grown to be the Taliban government’s main security threat, conducting attacks on both foreigners and foreign interests as well as Afghan civilians.
Instead of the Taliban’s more inward-looking objective of administering an independent Afghanistan, ISIL claims it is fighting to establish a global Islamic “caliphate”.
Balkh has had numerous attacks, some of which the armed organisation has claimed responsibility for.
In an incident that the organisation claimed responsibility for in January, a suicide bomber in Kabul blew himself up close to the foreign ministry, killing at least 10 people.
Gunmen raided a Kabul hotel that was popular with businessmen in December, inflicting injuries on at least five Chinese nationals. The raid’s perpetrator, ISIL, took the blame.
The organisation also claimed responsibility for another assault on Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul in December, which Islamabad condemned as a “assassination attempt” against its ambassador.
In September, ISIL once again claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that claimed the lives of two members of the personnel of the Russian embassy.
