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AFP
Peshawar
At least seven students were killed and scores more wounded on Tuesday in a bomb attack on a Koran study class at a religious school in northwestern Pakistan, officials said.
More than 60 people had been taking a lesson when the explosion tore through the madrassa in Peshawar, about 170 kilometres (around 100 miles) west of Islamabad, said Waqar Azim, a senior police official.
“The blast took place in a seminary during a Koran class. Someone took a bag inside the seminary,” Azim told AFP.
He added that the person who had brought in the bag left the lecture hall before the blast at the Jamia Zuberia seminary.
Mohammad Ali Gandapur, another senior police official, said at least seven people had been killed with more than 50 wounded.
The death toll was confirmed by Mohammad Asim Khan, a spokesman at a local hospital, who told AFP that seven bodies and 70 wounded people had been taken to the facility.
“Most of those killed and injured were hit by ball bearings and some were badly burnt,” he said.
All of the dead were men aged between 20 and 40, he said. Teachers and boys as young as seven were among the wounded.
Kamran Bangash, a spokesman for the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, put the death toll at eight and said about 10 students remained in critical condition.
Teacher Safiullah Khan told AFP more than 1,000 students are currently enrolled at the religious school, which is divided into two sections -- one for students aged 18 and older and the other for children.
“The blast took place in the section where students above the age of 18 were taking a class,” Khan said, adding that the wall between the two sections collapsed in the blast.
A live stream of the lesson showed a religious teacher speaking in Pashto and Arabic, explaining a saying from the Prophet Mohammed, when the explosion took place.
Peshawar
At least seven students were killed and scores more wounded on Tuesday in a bomb attack on a Koran study class at a religious school in northwestern Pakistan, officials said.
More than 60 people had been taking a lesson when the explosion tore through the madrassa in Peshawar, about 170 kilometres (around 100 miles) west of Islamabad, said Waqar Azim, a senior police official.
“The blast took place in a seminary during a Koran class. Someone took a bag inside the seminary,” Azim told AFP.
He added that the person who had brought in the bag left the lecture hall before the blast at the Jamia Zuberia seminary.
Mohammad Ali Gandapur, another senior police official, said at least seven people had been killed with more than 50 wounded.
The death toll was confirmed by Mohammad Asim Khan, a spokesman at a local hospital, who told AFP that seven bodies and 70 wounded people had been taken to the facility.
“Most of those killed and injured were hit by ball bearings and some were badly burnt,” he said.
All of the dead were men aged between 20 and 40, he said. Teachers and boys as young as seven were among the wounded.
Kamran Bangash, a spokesman for the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, put the death toll at eight and said about 10 students remained in critical condition.
Teacher Safiullah Khan told AFP more than 1,000 students are currently enrolled at the religious school, which is divided into two sections -- one for students aged 18 and older and the other for children.
“The blast took place in the section where students above the age of 18 were taking a class,” Khan said, adding that the wall between the two sections collapsed in the blast.
A live stream of the lesson showed a religious teacher speaking in Pashto and Arabic, explaining a saying from the Prophet Mohammed, when the explosion took place.
