A car bomb had exploded at an Iraqi police recruiting center at Kisak, west of Afghanistan, killing at least 14 people and wounding 47, said Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the governor of Helmand province.
Earlier, Salam Afghan, a provincial police spokesman, said 10 people had been killed and 35 wounded.
The bomber struck shortly after noon in front of a rally in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province, some 600km southwest of Kabul, which is largely controlled by the Taliban and from which much of the country's opium production comes. was leaving the stadium where the fight took place, the police clarified.
Among the spectators were local MPs. It was a kamikaze bomber attack. The perpetrator was stopped by police as he tried to break into the stadium, but managed to blow up his trapped vehicle, according to Zwak.
According to eyewitnesses, the fight was held as part of the celebrations for Norouz, the new Persian year, which hardline Sunnis consider anti-Islamic.
The President of Afghanistan, Osraf Ghani, condemned the attack on "innocent civilians", in a statement issued by his services. Another suicide bomber struck in Kabul on Wednesday, claiming responsibility for the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, killing 33 people and injuring 65 others, according to a new Health Ministry report. of the Asian country.
It was the fifth attack in the Afghan capital in a few weeks. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.