Bomb blast: Cleric’s brother killed, three others injured in explosion

KOHAT:

A cleric’s brother was killed, while three others were injured when a bomb planted by unidentified militants exploded inside a seminary in Mashti Khel, Orakzai Agency on Friday.

This is the first such incident to have taken place this year.

Mawaz Khan, an official from the political administration of Orakzai Agency, said the incident took place at around 4pm.  He said the militants had planted the bomb inside the room of a cleric identified as Mufti Kifayatullah in Madrassa Saddiqa. The bomb was detonated through a remote-controlled device. The cleric, his nephew and a visitor were injured while his brother, Amin Jan, was killed in the blast.



The mufti told the administration official that he had gone to a mosque for Friday prayers and came back to the seminary at 3:50pm. He was talking to Gul Muhammad, Jan and his nephew Abid Rahman, when the bomb exploded. The cleric’s nephew and Muhammad were taken to Combined Military Hospital in Kohat. The blast destroyed the room and partially damaged the structure of the seminary.

Initial investigations suggested that militants planted a bomb when the cleric went out for prayers. The bomb disposal squad claimed that six kilogrammes of explosives were used in the explosion. The official said the mufti claimed to have no known enemies.

In July 2013, security forces declared Orakzai Agency as peaceful and militant-free, but then in October the same year, at least 15 people were killed while 12 others were injured in a suicide attack when the bomber blew up and a vehicle full of explosives rammed into a compound of an anti-Taliban commander in Speen Thal area of the agency.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2014.