[Watch] Grenade explodes inside Kabul International Cricket Stadium during a domestic T20 match
A grenade explosion took place inside the Kabul International Cricket Stadium in Afghanistan on Friday (July 29) during a domestic match. The incident occurred during a Shpageeza League fixture featuring Band-e-Amir Dragons and Pamir Zalmi.
A video taken right after the explosion has gone viral on social media in which spectators can be seen running around in panic. It is worth mentioning that several United Nations (UN) representatives were also present at the venue when the incident took place.
Footage : There have been casualties in the blast at the Kabul international cricket stadium. #Afghanistan https://t.co/wM7qMsVDpR
A video from the blast area, cricket stadium. https://t.co/TJJPccFiFI
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) chief executive Nassib Khan confirmed in a statement that four civilians were injured in the blast. He also confirmed that all the players and the support staff were safe.
"The match was going on between two teams in Shpageeza League, and during the match a blast happened. Four civilians in the crowd have been injured. ACB staff and the players were safe."
There was chaos all around after the bomb blast. Reports suggest that all the players were rushed to inside a bunker. No fatalities have been reported by the security officials.
"After clean-up of the area, the match restarted" - Kabul Commander spokesperson gives update on the blast
Khalid Zadran, a spokesperson for Kabul Commander, confirmed during his conversation with Reuters that the explosion was due to a grenade. He revealed that the game was halted for some time and it restarted later.
"The match stopped for a while. After clean-up of the area the match restarted."
The news of the explosion at the cricket stadium comes just two days after there was a bomb blast near the gate of Gurdwara Karte Pawan in Kabul.
The ongoing Shpageeza League is the eighth edition of the T20 competition. Notably, this is the first season of the domestic tournament since the Taliban seized power last year.