LANDI KOTAL: A government-run girls’ primary school was blown up in Bara on Sunday night.

Official sources said armed men forced a family out of the school building in Sultan Khel area of Akkakhel, planted a large quantity of explosives at several places in the institution and detonated it at around midnight. The building was razed to the ground.

The evicted family had taken up shelter in the school building after having migrated from Tirah a few months back.

Earlier in the day, the spokesman for the banned Lashkar-i-Islam militant group, Saifullah, warned of attacking government installations if the military operation being carried out against LI was not stopped forthwith.

Militants have destroyed 86 government schools in Khyber Agency.

Meanwhile, military planes on Monday bombed militant hideouts in Sanda Pal and Shokot areas of Tirah valley.

In Mandi Kas area of Bara, six-year-old Rizwan was critically injured when a mortar shell fell near a house. The family was busy collecting household items in order to move out of Bara when the projectile landed near the house.

Fear-stricken families of Sipah, Malakdin Khel, Kamarkhel and Akkakhel continued to flee Bara and were trying to reach Peshawar and adjoining areas.

Officials of the political administration said 3,000 displaced families had been provided transport and cooked food along with medical care.

Meanwhile, a close relative of MNA Haji Shahji Gul reached Torkham border on Monday after he was released by his captors.

Haji Hikmat was kidnapped from his house in Jamrud about two months ago and taken to Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2014