A mortar round landed inside the residence of Atta Mohammad Noor, the former governor of Balkh province this evening, wounding at least two people, said MP Sayed Zahir Masroor.  

"The mortar landed while Noor was in a meeting with political leaders, provincial council members and security officials to review the security situation of the province," he said.  

Security sources said that the mortar hit a vehicle that belonged to Ali Mohaqiq, MP and son of Mohammad Mohaqiq, senior adviser on political and security affairs of the president. 

“A driver of Ali Mohaqiq and another person were wounded in the incident,” according to the sources, who added that “no one at the meeting was hurt in the attack.” 

Noor went to Balkh last week to support local security forces in clearing operations against the Taliban. 

Out of 14 districts in Balkh, nine of them have fallen to the Taliban in the past several weeks. Kaldar and Chahar Boak were the districts that fell most recently.

The Taliban were a threat to Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of the province, but security forces and commandos reinforced security to prevent the Taliban, said sources.

A week ago Noor pledged to mobilize the public in Balkh against the Taliban and to clear the province and restore stability. 

“God forbid, the fall of Balkh means the fall of the north and the fall of the north means the fall of Afghanistan. We have experienced this. It is not a story, it is history,” Noor said. “We will not allow it to fall. We are here with a firm commitment to return security to the people, and we will not leave them alone.”  

No group has claimed responsibility for the mortar attack.