ISIS Claim Attack on Senior Taliban Governor in Afghanistan

A wounded man receives treatment at a hospital after a bomb blast in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital city of Balkh Province, in northern Afghanistan, on March 9, 2023. Abdul Saboor Sirat/AP Photo

ISLAMABAD—The ISIS terrorist group has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed the governor of Afghanistan’s northern Balkh Province and two other people at his office.

The regional affiliate of ISIS in Khorasan Province is a key rival of the Taliban. The terrorist group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.