An explosion in the office of the Taliban governor of the northern province of Balkh in Afghanistan has resulted in his death.
Since the Taliban assumed power in 2021, Mohammad Dawood Muzammil has been the highest-ranking official to be murdered.
Although prominent pro-Taliban figures and others have been killed in a series of attacks, many of which have been claimed by Islamic State, violence has since significantly decreased.
Neighborhood police said the reason for the most recent impact was muddled. No immediate claim of responsibility was made.
On the other hand, the governor had been "martyred in an explosion by the enemies of Islam," according to Zabihullah Mujahid, a Twitter account for the Taliban. He added that an investigation is underway.
In his previous position as governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar, Muzammil is said to have led the fight against Islamic State militants. In October, he moved to Balkh.
According to Mohammed Asif Waziri, a spokesperson for the Balkh Police, the explosion took place "around 9am... inside the second floor of the governor's office."
The attack, according to the police, left at least one other person dead. Several other people are said to have been hurt.
"A bang occurred. According to the AFP news agency, Khairuddin, who sustained injuries in the explosion, fell to the ground. He said he had seen a companion lose a hand in the blast.
He stated that the governor entered his office shortly after the explosion occurred.
According to unverified reports, it was a suicide attack.
A day sooner commonplace Taliban specialists guaranteed they had killed eight "revolutionaries and ruffians" in Mazar-e Sharif, the Balkh capital. However, they did not specify which "rebel" organization these individuals allegedly belonged to.
After the Taliban were overthrown as the rulers of Afghanistan in 2001, the militant Islamist group regained power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US-led forces.
Since then, a series of fatal bombings have mostly targeted mosques and minority communities. Many of the attacks have been claimed by the regional affiliate of the militant Islamic State (IS-K), which is a fierce rival of the Taliban.
