The Taliban governor of Afghanistan’s Balkh province was killed in a blast at his office on Thursday, police said.

“Two people, including Mohammad Dawood Muzammil, the governor of Balkh, have been killed in an explosion this morning,” local police spokesman Asif Waziri told AFP, adding that the blast happened on the second floor of his office, in the provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif.

“It was a suicide attack. We don’t have information as to how the suicide bomber reached the office of the governor,” he said, adding that two people were also wounded.

Muzammil was “martyred in an explosion by the enemies of Islam”, tweeted government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

The incident occurred at around 9:30 am when the governor arrived at his office from home.

“When the governor was coming to his office, the man blew himself up in the office. The governor and a local man were martyred. A mujahid along with another civilian was injured,” officials told Dawn.com.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban usually blame such attacks on the banned terror outfit Daesh.

Muzammil is one of the highest-ranking Taliban officials to be killed in such circumstances since the group returned to power in August 2021.

He was initially appointed as the governor of the eastern province of Nangarhar where he led the fight against Islamic State militants, before being moved to Balkh last year.