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Suicide bomber strikes traditional sports event in northern Afghanistan, killing 7

By: Rahim Faiez, The Associated Press

Wednesday, Mar. 13, 2013 at 11:29 AM | Comments: 0

KABUL - A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of Afghans watching the traditional sport of buzkashi on Wednesday, killing seven people in the north of the country, officials said.

Among the seven killed in the bombing in the remote village of Basos were several family members of the Afghan speaker of parliament, said regional police spokesman Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai. Another eight people were wounded.

The parliament speaker, Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi, was born in Basos. Ahmadzai said the dead include his father, two brothers and one nephew.

The bomber hit around 6 p.m. local time, just as fans were gathering around the players as they came off the field at the end of the match, said Kunduz province police spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini.

Buzkashi is akin to polo, but players on horseback use a headless goat carcass instead of a ball.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the bombers for attacking Afghan civilians.

"There was no foreign soldier or individual there, yet this was carried out by those terrorists who claim they are the enemies of foreign forces," Karzai said in a statement.

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