Taliban bomb schools in northwest Pakistan

[Lankan Ranger]

Taliban bomb schools in northwest Pakistan

The Taliban blew up on Friday three schools in northwest Pakistan where troops are fighting against militants in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials said.

Buildings in two boys' schools about 1.5 kilometres (one mile) apart were blown up in the Khyber tribal district which lies between Afghanistan and Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province.

"Militants blew up a government boys' high school and a middle school with explosives around 3.00 am (2100 GMT)," tribal administration official Rehan Gul Khattak said.

There were no casualties because the properties were empty at the time, he said, blaming the Taliban and militants from the Lashkar-e-Islam (Army of Islam) led by local warlord Mangal Bagh for the attacks.

Another government boys high school was bombed in the Peshawar district of Sufaid Dheri, damaging its boundary wall and two rooms, senior police official Mohammad Karim said.

Islamist militants opposed to co-education and subscribers to sharia law have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in northwest Pakistan in recent years.

The Khyber tribal region is the main land bridge to neighbouring Afghanistan and the principle supply route for NATO troops fighting an eight-year Taliban insurgency across the border.
Pakistani troops launched an offensive in Khyber in September in a bid to flush out the Taliban and homegrown Lashkar-e-Islam.

The United States is increasing pressure on Pakistan to crack down more on militants hiding out in its lawless tribal belt, branded the most dangerous place on the planet and the chief sanctuary of Al-Qaeda.

From:Taliban bomb schools in northwest Pakistan - Hindustan Times

 

[Metallic]

Explosions rock 3 Pakistan schools
PAKISTAN - 25 DECEMBER 2009

Islamabad, Pakistan -- Separate blasts rocked three schools in Pakistan's troubled northwest early Friday morning, authorities said.

One of the explosions at a school on the outskirts of Peshawar destroyed a wall, said Sahibzada Anis, Peshawar's administrative chief. No injuries were reported.
Two other bombs were set up outside a school in the Khyber Agency of Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal areas, according to Azam Jan, a senior local administration official.

One blew up and damaged a wall while the other was defused by local officials.

A third school was hit in the same area, and the attack destroyed the wall of the compound but not the buildings, Jan said.

Peshawar, the capital of the Northwest Frontier Province, is at the core of Pakistan's war on terror. The military has launched multiple offensives targeting homegrown militants, sparking a retaliation.

Since October, the city has been the target of a series of attacks launched by militants to revenge a major Army offensive to root out the Taliban.

A truck bomb in a popular market killed over 100 people in October and government and security forces have suffered regular attacks.


Source: CNN