LANDI KOTAL, Jan 24: A security man was killed and two persons were injured when a bomb, buried under the debris of a destroyed school, went off in Landi Kotal tehsil of Khyber Agency on Tuesday.
Officials said that a team of khasadars was sent to Sheikhmal Khel area on Tuesday morning to asses the damage done to a government primary school, targeted by militants on the night between Monday and Tuesday.During the inspection of the damaged building, an unexploded device buried under the debris went off, injuring three men including two khasadars.
One of the khasadars identified as Murtaza Khan succumbed to his injuries while his colleague Waliullah and a local resident Abdullah were treated for their injuries in Landi Kotal hospital.
Two rooms, a veranda and a portion of the boundary wall were damaged in the explosion. Nobody was present in the building at the time of the explosion as schools in Landi Kotal have been closed for winter vacations.
Officials said that they registered a case and started investigations. No one has so far claimed responsibility for targeting the school. The incident is second of its type in Landi Kotal in less than a week.
Four days ago, unidentified militants blew up a government primary school near the Torkham border.
Officials of the education department said that number of schools destroyed in Khyber Agency had reached 57. Out of these schools 32 were targeted in Bara, 22 in Landi Kotal and four in Jamrud, depriving 16,000 children of education only in Bara tehsil.
Meanwhile, the political administration paid cash compensation to the families of the two khasadars, who had lost their lives in an encounter with a gang of kidnappers in Jamrud on Monday.The families of Mir Mat and Yousaf were given Rs500,000 and Rs300,000 respectively. Other khasadars, who took part in the operation, were also awarded Rs200,000 by the political agent.
However, the compensation was awarded only after a protest demonstration by the relatives of the slain khasadars. Mir Mat's father Zar Mat Khan, also a khasadar, was killed in a suicide attack in Jamrud a year ago.In Swabi, unidentified militants blew up a CD shop in Razaar tehsil on Monday night.
The CD shop was destroyed completely when explosive went off in a market in Dagai village. Two other adjacent shops were also damaged. Police reached the area soon after the incident and collected evidence. Nobody was hurt in the incident.
In Lakki Marwat, a vehicle carrying workers of a project was partially damaged in a roadside blast on Tuesday evening.
An official said that an explosive device planted alongside Lakki-Mianwali Road went off when the bus carrying PAEC workers reached near Chowkijand. "The workers were coming to Lakki city from the project site as usual," an official said.
He said that the explosion occurred after the bus crossed the place where the explosive device was planted. All the workers onboard remained safe.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.