Afghanistan’s cricket board said violence continued despite the extension of the ceasefire, with three players among the dead.
Pakistan has launched airstrikes into Afghanistan, killing at least 10 people and breaking a ceasefire that brought two days of relative calm on the border after a period of intense bloodshed, Afghan officials said.
The 48-hour ceasefire sparked nearly a week of bloody border clashes that left dozens of soldiers and civilians dead on both sides.
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“Pakistan has broken the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika province,” a senior Taliban official told AFP late Friday on condition of anonymity. “Afghanistan will retaliate.”
Ten civilians were killed and 12 injured in the attack, a state hospital official told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that two children were among the dead.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board said in a statement that three players who were in the region for a tournament were killed along with five others and seven others injured in a “despicable attack by the Pakistani regime.”
The ACB announced in a social media post on Saturday that the cricketers were “targeted during a rally” in Urgun district as they returned home from a friendly cricket match in Sharana, the capital of Paktika province.
“ACB considers this to be a great loss to Afghanistan’s sports, athletes and cricket community,” the ACB said.
They also announced that they will withdraw from the Tri-Nations T20I series scheduled for next month, in which Pakistan will participate.
In Pakistan, a senior security official told AFP that troops had “conducted precision airstrikes” targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a local faction linked to the Pakistan Taliban (TTP), in border areas with Afghanistan.
Islamabad said the same group was involved in a suicide bombing and gun attack at a military camp in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas area, which borders Afghanistan, killing seven Pakistani paramilitary soldiers.
Tensions center on security issues, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harboring militants led by the Pakistani Taliban (known as the TTP) in the country, an allegation denied by Kabul.
Cross-border violence has escalated dramatically since last Saturday, days after an explosion in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and as the Taliban’s foreign minister began an unprecedented visit to Pakistan’s long-time rival India.
The Taliban then launched attacks along part of its southern border with Pakistan, and Islamabad announced it would launch its own strong response.
When the ceasefire began at 13:00 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on Wednesday, Islamabad said it would last for 48 hours, while Kabul said it would remain in effect until Pakistan violates it.
Ahead of the attack, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said 37 people had been killed and 425 injured on the Afghan side of the border, and called on both sides to end hostilities permanently.
Hundreds of people attended the funeral in Spin Bolduc, the scene of fierce fighting, on Thursday, including children whose bodies were wrapped in white cloth.
“People have mixed feelings,” Nematullah, 42, told AFP. “They are afraid of renewed fighting, but they still leave their homes and continue to work.”
But early Friday, residents described a normal scene.
“Everything is fine. Everything is open,” Nani, 35, told AFP.
“I’m not scared, but everyone sees things differently. Some people say they’re going to send their children elsewhere because the situation is not good, but I don’t think anything will happen,” said Nani, who did not want to give her last name.
