KABUL (PAN): A trader and brother of President Hamid Karzai has donated 20 acres of land for the construction of an international cricket stadium in the capital of southern Kandahar province, an official said on Wednesday.

An agreement was signed a few days ago between the president’s brother, Mehmood Karzai, and the finance minister, Omar Zakhilwal, who is also chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), said Elham Yasini, the cricket board spokesman.

He said the stadium would be built in Eino Mena township, and the work would begin soon.

Dr. Hamid Shinwari, the ACB chief executive, who visited Kandahar city to witness the signing, said Eino Mena was perfect for the stadium. He hoped the project would start soon.

Shinwari said he hoped the stadium would also host a cricket training academy for young players from the southern region.

An ACB official based in Kandahar, Haji Wali Amin, said the stadium would add to the beauty of the township.

The ACB is constructing two cricket grounds of international standard in Kabul and eastern Nangarhar province. Officials say the venues should be opened soon.

Amin said they had no proper venue for cricket in the province, and that the new stadium would do much to promote the game.

He said the land donated by Karzai was estimated at $4 million while the stadium would cost $6 million.

The ACB has a two-year plan aimed at constructing 10 stadiums and establishing up to 15 cricket academies.

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A resident of the Dand-i-Ghori village said he saw Taliban militants shifting dead bodies of their associates from the scene of the airstrike in the morning.

A senior Taliban commander, who led the militant group's district committee, was reportedly among the dead, a local official said.

ISAF confirmed the airstrike that killed "multiple insurgents".

A purported Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirmed the death of five fighters in the raid.

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