8 dead in blasts at Afghan sports stadium

Multiple explosions at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Jalalabad claimed eight lives and wounded dozens late on Friday night, officials said.

The blasts occurred at a football stadium in the city that was hosting a cricket match at the start of the holy month of Ramzan, Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the provincial council said.

He said the blasts were caused by two rockets which killed at least six people and wounded 50 but there was some uncertainty about the final casualty total. 

A spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar, Attaullah Khogyani said three back-to-back explosions led to the death of eight spectators injured 43.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, has seen growing violence this year, most recently last week when a coordinated attack on the state accounts office killed at least 15 people.

The provincial governor was last week dismissed over deteriorating security in the province, which has become a stronghold for Islamic State fighters as well as the Taliban.