Four hurt, two schools destroyed in FR Kohat
KOHAT, March 28: Two more schools were blown up and four persons, including a woman and three children, received injuries in separate incidents of bomb blasts and rocket attack in Frontier Region of Kohat on Monday, sources said.
They said that Jamsheda Bibi and her three children identified as Shafa Imran, Umar Saeed and Amar Aila were injured when militants attacked Ara Khel village with rockets.
The injured woman and her two sons were brought to Woman and Children Hospital for treatment where their condition was stated to be out of danger.
Officials said that the rockets were fired from Darra Adamkhel side. Two of the rockets exploded in a residential area and damaged a house, causing injuries to the family.
Earlier, unidentified militants blew up a primary school for girls and a high school for boys in Jawaki area of FR Kohat on Monday morning.
Sources said that several time devices were planted in the classrooms and boundary walls of both the schools. The explosive devices went off at around 4am, destroying both the buildings completely, sources added. However no casualty was reported in the blasts.
Officials said that security forces reached the area after the blasts and collected evidences from the destroyed buildings. The political administration registered cases and started investigations from different angles.
The army pounded alleged hideouts of militants in the mountains of Darra Adamkhel after destruction of schools. No loss of any kind was reported in the artillery shelling.
Sources said that militants were operating in the area for the last four years despite several clean-up operations. They usually came from the other side of the mountains from Darra Adamkhel, they added.
Meanwhile, Bajaur political administration foiled a sabotage attempt by defusing explosive device planted by suspected militants at a government-run school in tehsil Salarzai on Monday.
The political administration sent Levies personnel to government primary school for girls in Gang area after getting information that explosive device was planted there.
The Levies personnel cordoned off the area and defused the explosive device. Political Agent Mohammad Jamil told journalists that timely action by the administration personnel thwarted the sabotage bid.
He said that about 12 suspected persons were arrested under collective territorial responsibility clause of FCR during a crackdown in the area.
He said that nobody would be allowed to damage government installations. The political agent added that local tribal elders were cooperating with administration to protect government buildings.