An explosion has occurred inside Kabul's main cricket stadium during a domestic league match, killing at least two people and briefly halting the game, officials said.
The blast happened at a match between Band-e-Amir Dragons and Pamir Zalmi in the Afghan domestic T20 league at the Kabul International Cricket Stadium packed with hundreds of spectators on July 29.
"The blast happened due to a grenade, two have been killed and some of our countrymen injured," Khalid Zadran, the Taliban-appointed Kabul police spokesman, said adding that security forces were looking for perpetrators.
Zadran said the match was halted “for a while” and it resumed “after a clean-up of the area.”
Zadran urged people to refer only to security forces' information when reporting casualty figures after conflicting reports on the number of the deaths and injuries appeared on media and within the diplomatic community.
Kabul's Emergency Hospital in the center of the city said on Twitter on July 29 that it had received 13 casualties.
No one claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Naseeb Khan, chief executive of Afghanistan Cricket Board said in statement that "the players, staff members, and foreigners are all safe.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “strongly condemned” the attack and said targeting “civilians and civilian objects are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law.”
A top United Nations official, Ramiz Alakbarov, who was present at the stadium when the blast occurred, condemned the "atrocious attack," a UN statement said.
Cricket is a hugely popular game in Afghanistan, with several of its players gaining international recognition.