School blown up in KP's Mamund

A government middle school for boys in Bajaur’s War Mamund tehsil was blown up on Monday night in what officials and residents described as a terrorist attack that damaged the building and fuelled fear in the area.

The incident took place in the Kharkai locality within the limits of War Mamund police station, according to accounts shared with Dawn on Tuesday. Residents said unidentified miscreants entered the school premises and planted multiple explosive devices inside the building before the blasts ripped through the structure.

The explosion, they said, was powerful enough to cause significant damage to the school and alarm villagers who were asleep at the time. Police later confirmed that the building had been destroyed but said no one was injured because the school was empty when the blast occurred.

A police report quoted DSP Mamund Niaz Mohammad as informing the police control room in Khar that terrorists had demolished the Government Middle School for Boys in Kharkai with explosions on Monday night. The report said the building was destroyed in the attack, but there were no casualties.

An officer at War Mamund police station told Dawn that a police team reached the site soon after the incident and collected evidence. He said furniture inside the school was also damaged. An investigation has been launched, and a search operation is under way in the area to identify those responsible.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

PTI MPA Dr Hamidur Rehman, who belongs to War Mamund tehsil, condemned the bombing in a social media post, calling it a cowardly act. He said the attack was not only on a school building but on the future of children in the area.

This report is based on a monitored public feed and is attributed to Dawn Pakistan.

Source: Dawn Pakistan - https://www.dawn.com/news/2017347/school-blown-up-in-kps-mamund