Islamabad, 11 March 2023 (dpa/MIA) – At least one person was killed and eight others were wounded in a bomb blast that hit a gathering at a cultural centre in Afghanistan’s northern province of Balkh on Saturday, the Interior Ministry said.

Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafay Takoor said the blast was caused by explosives placed in the Tabayan Shia cultural centre in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif.

A security guard was killed and five journalists and three children were wounded, the official said.

Reportedly, the gathering - attended by many journalists and religious scholars as well as some local officials - was organized as a way to thank journalists in the province.

Tabayan is a pro-Iranian cultural centre. In 2017, the Islamic State (IS) extremist group claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 50 people in a branch of the centre in Kabul.

Following the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, Islamic State intensified its attacks in Afghanistan, mainly targeting religious minorities, Taliban members as well as foreign diplomatic centres.

Taliban security forces are periodically cracking down on Islamic State hideouts in different parts of the country.

On Thursday, Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed Dawood Muzammil, the governor of Balkh province and two others at his office. Muzammil is one of the most senior Taliban officials to be killed since the Taliban retook power.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's attack.