The International Press Institute (IPI) joined media organisations around the world today in condemning the Taliban over a suicide car bomb attack in Afghanistan that took the lives of seven television station personnel.

News reports indicate that the group claimed responsibility for yesterday’s bombing targeting personnel in a minibus privately owned by the Kaboora production company, which is affiliated with Afghanistan’s first 24-hour news channel, TOLO News.

The group was leaving the company’s studio in central Kabul when the attack occurred at around 5p.m amid evening traffic. A man crashed his car into the minibus before detonating the bomb strapped to his body.

The incident comes just months after the Taliban in October threatened to “eliminate” that media outlet and fellow broadcaster 1TV, declaring that the group considered them to be “military targets”.

“Sadly, this cowardly and disgusting act seems to be part of a larger trend in which journalists in many countries are being treated as combatants and targeted for ‘elimination’,” IPI Director of Advocacy and Communications Steven M. Ellis said. “This not only violates international law, but reveals the moral and ideological bankruptcy of those who resort to such tactics. We urge Afghanistan’s government – and all governments – to take stronger steps to ensure the safety of journalists and media organisations, and to bring their killers to justice.”

In a statement emailed to Al Jazeera, the Taliban named the alleged bomber and suggested that the vehicle targeted “has been under our surveillance for a long time”.

IPI today renewed its October call on the Afghan government to tighten security measures for all media outlets in the country.

Yesterday’s bombing comes at a time in which media expansion has been among the Afghan state’s more-notable achievements. TOLO News has been welcomed for its hard-hitting investigative reporting and informative breaking news segments.