Afghanistan will no longer take part in an upcoming cricket series after it says three players in a local tournament were killed in an air strike.
The Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from November's tri-nation T20 series out of respect for the three, who did not play for the national team, who it said were "targeted" in an "attack carried out by the Pakistani regime" on Friday evening.
The strike hit a home in Urgon district in eastern Paktika province, where the cricketers were eating dinner together after a match, eyewitnesses and local officials told the BBC.
Eight people were killed, the ACB said. Pakistan said the strike targeted militants and denied attacking civilians.
The ACB named the three players who were killed as Kabeer, Sibghatullah and Haroon, calling their deaths "a great loss for Afghanistan's sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family".
