Boys' primary school blown up in Pakistan

A boys' primary school was blown up on Sunday by the Taliban in Pakistan's restive northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

It was the only school in Chitral district's Arandu village, a remote area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The attack, carried out through bombs planted around the boundary wall, has demolished two rooms and partially damaged the main building, police said.

A senior police officer said that 80 to 90 students are enrolled in the school. No one was injured as the school was closed due to Sunday.

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Jamatul Ahrar have claimed responsibility for bombing the school. The Taliban militants have attacked hundreds of schools in northwestern Pakistan in the past.

 

According to security officials, the school is situated at Dogam area where a girls' primary school was attacked in the recent past.

Educational institutions are often attacked by terrorists in Pakistan.

Last month, 12 schools, half of them all-girls', had been burnt down by unidentified militants in coordinated attacks in the restive Gilgit-Baltistan, triggering protest by local residents who sought safety for educational institutions.

According to a report, about 1,500 schools have been destroyed in Pakistan's tribal belt in 10 years.