Jalalabad: A bomb exploded on Saturday during an award ceremony for journalists in Afghanistan’s Mazar-e- Sharif city, killing at least one person and wounding eight, including children, officials said. The blast happened at the Tabian Farhang center in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, as journalists gathered for the award event at 11 am, said Mohammad Asif Waziri, the local police spokesman.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said later that five journalists and three children were wounded. The blast killed a security guard, he said.
It came two days after a bomb in Mazar-e-Sharif killed the provincial governor, Daud Muzmal, and two others. Four were wounded.
Among the journalists wounded was Najeeb Faryad, a reporter for Ariana News television station, who said he felt like something hit him in the back, followed by a deafening sound before he fell to the ground.
Hujatullah Mujadidi, who heads the Association of Free Journalists of Afghanistan, said the cultural center in Balkh held the event to honor media personnel from the north of the country.
He said 14 journalists were wounded.
The association called on authorities to pay serious attention to the security and safety of journalists in the capital and provinces,
said Mujadidi.