Kabul: At least one person was killed and eight others, mostly journalists, were injured when a bomb exploded on Saturday during a press award ceremony in northern Afghanistan, according to local authorities.

At the Tabian Farhang centre in Mazar-e Sharif, the provincial capital of Balkh, where dozens of journalists had gathered for the Afghan Voice Agency's award ceremony, there was an explosion.

Balkh police spokesman Mohammed Asif Waziri informed reporters that "at least eight people, including five journalists and three children, were wounded and one guard was martyred" as security personnel surrounded the scene.

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Those in attendance were concerned that there would be more casualties.

The bomb detonated inside the event's venue, according to Sayed Shabir Mahmoodi, director of foreign relations for the Afghan Voice Agency in Balkh province, and unofficial death toll estimates suggested that more people were killed.

He said, "Local hospital staff in Mazar-e Sharif said three people were killed and more than 40 others were injured in the explosion.

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In recent years, attacks have claimed the lives of dozens of Afghan journalists, but Saturday's explosion was the first such incident since the Taliban seized power in 2021 after the withdrawal of US forces.

According to data from Reporters Without Borders, about 60% of media professionals have already left the country since 2021, and the attack will worsen the media situation in Afghanistan. Aziz Hafizullah Barakai,  head of the Afghanistan Journalists’ Union, told Arab News. 

This will create a negative environment for media persons, and it will definitely affect the journalists' work and lives," he said.

For the past few years, we have witnessed this violence against journalists all over Afghanistan. I implore the authorities to consider the safety of journalists.

Pajhwok Afghan News reporter Shir Ahmad Usmani claimed to be shocked. "Of course, it will impact the reporters' work and present more challenges," he said.

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The attack, which occurred two days after a suicide bomber killed Balkh governor Mohammed Dawood Muzamil, has not yet been immediately linked to any particular group.

Muzamil was a key figure within the Taliban who was responsible for raids against the organisation and had led anti-Daesh operations. The attack was claimed by a regional Daesh affiliate known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, or Daesh-K.