DERA KHAN: Militants blew up part of a newly constructed government school in the South Waziristan region late Friday night, a spokesman for a wing of the Pakistani Taliban said on Saturday, the latest in a string of attacks on educational institutions.
A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), known as the Sajna group claimed responsibility for the attack
“We have blown up the school because it was a government installation,” said Azam Tariq, spokesman for Sajna, warning the group would continue to attack government targets.
No one was hurt in the blast, but 18 labourers working on the site were abducted and released shortly after.
Officials in South Waziristan said the girls' wing of the primary school in the tehsil Tiarza area was damaged in Friday's blast, as well as some heavy machinery being used for ongoing construction at the site.
In a separate incident in Mohmand tribal area to the north, Pakistani security officials killed five militants during a clash near Mohmand Agency's administrative headquarters on Saturday. The militants were planning an attack in the area, a security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Returned IDPs killed in IED blast
In another incident, three local civilians were killed and one injured when an improvised explosive device (IED) blew up their car in Navi Mandi, Datakhel tehsil.
The four were returned internally displaced persons (IDPs) traveling to Bannu to retrieve their belongings.
Security forces started a search operation and sealed the area.
