Two young Afghan cricketers were killed and two other people wounded during a match between local schools on Tuesday when the pitch was hit by mortar fire, a local official and a witness said.
The school teams were playing in Paktia province, south ofthe capital Kabul, when they were struck by insurgents, the provincialgovernor’s spokesman Abdullah Hasrat said.
“In the middle of the match, three rockets fired by theTaliban from a nearby mountain hit the ground, killing two players aged 14 and15, and injuring the umpire and one of the spectators,” he said.
The incident was witnessed by local resident Mohammad Wasim,who also reported three explosions.
“The mortars were fired from a mountain in thedistance. The first hit outside a school, the second near the border policebase and the third hit in the middle of the ground where the cricket match washappening,” he said.
There was no immediate comment from the Taliban, the maininsurgent group in the country.
Cricket has soared in popularity in Afghanistan in recentyears, thanks in large part to many Afghans learning the game while growing upin refugee camps in neighbouring Pakistan.The Afghan national cricket team is playing inthis year’s World Cup in England and Wales, but they have yet to win a match.