On Sunday , the Islamic State claimed responsibility for an explosion that took place on Saturday in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan , killing a security guard and wounding a number of journalists and children.

Saturday's attack was carried out during a ceremony honoring journalists in Afghanistan, and it took place two days after a suicide attack claimed by the organization also killed the governor of Balkh province, who was appointed by the Taliban to the post.

"The explosion was caused by a booby-trapped bag that Islamic State fighters were able to plant and detonate" in a cultural center in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, said in a statement reported by the Islamic State's Amaq propaganda agency.

And the agency reported, quoting unnamed security sources, that "the bombing targeted a party that was organized inside the Shiite center to honor a number of journalists working in various media agencies that were involved in war and incitement against the Islamic State."

According to the police, a security guard was killed and five Afghan journalists and three children were injured in the bomb attack.

On Thursday, the governor of Balkh province, Muhammad Daoud Muzamel, was killed in a suicide attack targeting his office in Mazar-i-Sharif, which was also claimed by the Islamic State.

Muzamel is one of the highest-ranking officials killed in Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

Violence in various parts of Afghanistan has decreased significantly since the Taliban seized power, but the security situation has deteriorated again, with the Islamic State group adopting a number of bloody attacks.

The two organizations share a militant ideology, but the Islamic State seeks to establish a global "caliphate", while the Taliban seeks to lead an independent Afghanistan.

Islamic State attacks often target Afghanistan's Shiite and Sufi minorities, as well as foreign nationals and interests.