ISLAMABAD/KABUL: A blast hit the capital of Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province on Saturday, police said, days after the explosion claimed by Islamic State killed the governor.
According to Arab News, Mohamad Asif Waziri, Balkh’s police spokesperson, said the blast has taken place in the second police district of Balkh,” and “We will share details later.” He said the authorities didn’t expect a high number of casualties but were investigating.
A journalist based in Balkh, Mohammad Fardin Nowrozi, said he and several other journalists were wounded in the explosion but didn’t provide further details.
Cause of blast not clear
Taliban authorities are already investigating the explosion that killed the governor, Mawlawi Mohammad Dawood Muzamil, and two others at his office on Thursday. The governor of the southern province of Kandahar will temporarily run Balkh, his spokesman Hajji Zaid said, until Supreme Spiritual Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada selects the latest governor for the northern province, an important trade hub with Central Asia.
