Suicide bomber kills three near Kabul cricket stadium: police

The attacker detonated the bomb after he was stopped at a security checkpoint towards the stadium

KABUL: A suicide bomber killed three people including a policeman and wounded five others after blowing himself up near a cricket stadium in the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday, police said.

The attacker detonated the bomb after he was stopped at a security checkpoint as he walked towards the stadium where a match was under way.

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



Two of the wounded were police officers.

Several ambulances were seen speeding away from the scene, apparently taking the injured to hospital, an AFP reporter said.

The blast happened during a cricket match inside the stadium, Farid Hotak, a spokesman for the Afghanistan Cricket Board, said.

The game was briefly interrupted, Hotak said, adding "all players and cricket board officials are safe".