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| Blast at Game Kills Dozens in Afghanistan | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| KABUL, Afghanistan — As many as 40 people were killed Sunday after a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a crowd gathered for a volleyball match in a village in eastern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the provincial governor said. | KABUL, Afghanistan — As many as 40 people were killed Sunday after a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a crowd gathered for a volleyball match in a village in eastern Afghanistan, a spokesman for the provincial governor said. |
| Up to 60 people were wounded in the blast, which occurred in the Yahya Khel district of Paktika Province, said the spokesman, Mokhlis Afghan. | Up to 60 people were wounded in the blast, which occurred in the Yahya Khel district of Paktika Province, said the spokesman, Mokhlis Afghan. |
| The province’s deputy governor, Attaullah Fazli, put the number of dead at 50. | The province’s deputy governor, Attaullah Fazli, put the number of dead at 50. |
| Although most of the victims were civilians, the dead included eight members of the Afghan Local Police, a village-based paramilitary outfit that supports the Afghan government, said Bahawul Khan Katawazai, a member of the Paktika provincial council. | Although most of the victims were civilians, the dead included eight members of the Afghan Local Police, a village-based paramilitary outfit that supports the Afghan government, said Bahawul Khan Katawazai, a member of the Paktika provincial council. |
| The attack occurred after 5 p.m. in a small village where a local volleyball team was competing against players from a neighboring district, Yosuf Khel. Volleyball is among the most popular forms of entertainment in rural Afghanistan. Villages and district teams often compete against each other in a local circuit, attracting sizable crowds of young men. | |
| The Taliban banned sports like boxing and soccer when the group governed Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. In the years since, even as suicide attacks by the Taliban and other insurgent groups have become more frequent, the bombers have not typically targeted sporting events. | The Taliban banned sports like boxing and soccer when the group governed Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. In the years since, even as suicide attacks by the Taliban and other insurgent groups have become more frequent, the bombers have not typically targeted sporting events. |
| There have been exceptions. A few suicide attacks have targeted games of buzkashi, a competition in which men on horseback struggle over a dead goat. One of the deadliest suicide bombings in the country occurred at a dogfighting match near the southern city of Kandahar in 2008. At least 80 people were killed. | There have been exceptions. A few suicide attacks have targeted games of buzkashi, a competition in which men on horseback struggle over a dead goat. One of the deadliest suicide bombings in the country occurred at a dogfighting match near the southern city of Kandahar in 2008. At least 80 people were killed. |
| Few details were available Sunday because of the remoteness of the location, and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. | Few details were available Sunday because of the remoteness of the location, and no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. |
| There have been at least five suicide attacks this year in Paktika Province. | |