Suicide bomb blast during Afghan T20 League match; 3 killed and 12 injured

Kabul, September 14: In Afghanistan, a suicide bomber killed three people near a cricket stadium in capital when a cricket match was under way inside the stadium. No one has claimed to be behind the bombing as yet, but both the Taliban and Islamic State have carried out previous similar attacks.

"The security forces by sacrificing themselves have prevented the attacker from reaching the crowd inside the stadium and creating a catastrophe," said police spokesman Basir Mujahid.

Police spokesman said, the dead included a policeman. Five others including two police officers were injured. All players and cricket board officials are reported to be safe.

According to Shafiqullah Stanikzai, Afghanistan Cricket Board, ACB's chief executive officer, the blast occurred during the fourth over of Knights' chase of 202. South Africa batsman Cameron Delport had scored a 42-ball century earlier to power Defenders to 201 for 6, which was seven runs too many for Knights.

The league, Afghanistan's domestic Twenty20 tournament, comprises six teams and features about two dozen overseas players from South Africa, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Oman. The Defenders-Knights match was the second game of the day, following the Amo Sharks-Kabul Eagles contest.

Notably, Cricket was banned in Afghanistan during the Taliban's rule between 1996 and 2001, but the sport has since seen a revival.