CHARSADDA/GHALANAI, Dec 20: Militants blew up two government schools in Shabqadar area of Charsadda district, bordering Mohmand tribal region, on Tuesday, police said.

The blasts were so powerful that several houses in the area also developed cracks. Taliban in Mohmand Agency claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Police and locals said that militants planted improvised explosive devices at the buildings of government girls primary schools Matta Mughalkhel and primary school for boys Sa Ghundai at the night between Monday and Tuesday. The explosive devises went off with a big bang, they added.

Three rooms of the girls school and two rooms of boys school were destroyed completely in the blasts. The furniture and record of both the schools were also damaged.

The explosions were heard in far and wide of the area. The windowpanes of several houses were broken. The blasts also caused cracks in the walls and floor of few houses in the area.

Police reached the site, cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. However, there was no report of any arrested till late night.

According to our correspondent in Mohmand Agency, local chief of Taliban Umar Khalid's special secretary Mukarram Khurasani has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

“We have destroyed two government schools in a single night to avenge destruction of our houses during the military operation in the region. The present education system is un-Islamic and not acceptable to us,” he told journalists by telephone.