Peshawar: Two persons were killed and 14
others, including seven school children, injured when a bomb went off outside a school Wednesday in this northwestern Pakistani city, police said.
The explosion occurred this morning near the
privately-run school in Nauthia town, a congested
neighbourhood within Peshawar cantonment, they said.
The dead included a passer-by and the owner of a
donkey cart. The condition of two injured persons was
described by officials as critical.
The injured were taken to Lady Reading Hospital.
The bomb, which contained five kilograms of
explosives, was triggered by remote control, Special Superintendent of Police Muhammad Ejaz Khan told reporters.
Other officials said the casualties would have been
higher had the bomb exploded half an hour later, when the
students began arriving at the school.
Two suspects were arrested by police near the site of
the blast and taken to an undisclosed location for
interrogation.
No group claimed responsibility for the blast.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the
terrorist attack and said such cowardly acts targeting
innocent citizens, particularly children, "explain the
ideology of the terrorists".
He asked the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government to ensure
the best medical treatment of the injured and directed
security agencies to enhance vigil on the activities of
extremist elements.
Khyber-Pakthunkhwa Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed
Bilour, who supervised rescue operations at the site of the
blast, told the media that the attack was part of a plot to
create unrest among people.
Militants will not be allowed to shatter the
government's firm resolve to wipe out militancy and terrorism,
he said.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 13:54