Afghanistan pulls out of cricket series after it says Pakistan air strike killed local players

Pakistan said the strike targeted militants and denied attacking civilians.

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The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from November's tri-nation T20 series out of respect for the dead. The three did not play for the national team.

The strike hit a home in Urgon district in Paktika province, where the players were eating dinner after a match, witnesses and local officials told the BBC.

Eight people were killed, the ACB said. Pakistan said the strike hit militants and denied targeting civilians.

The ACB named the three players who were killed as Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah and Haroon, calling their deaths "a great loss for Afghanistan's sports community, its athletes, and the cricketing family".