Pakistan law enforcement agencies detain several to find clues after seminary attack

Peshawar: Law enforcement agencies in Pakistan on Wednesday detained several people in connection with the bomb blast at a religious seminary in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar city that killed eight students and they suspect the target of the attack was a senior cleric from Afghanistan.

The blast occurred around 8:30 am on Tuesday at a local mosque, which also serves as a religious school in Dir Colony in interior Peshawar, while students were reading the Quran.

There was no claim of responsibility for the blast in the city, bordering war-torn Afghanistan.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police chief Sanaullah Abbasi told reporters that about five kilogrammes of explosives were used in the attack; however, there was no specific alert about this attack.

Police, Elite Force, Rapid Response Force and Bomb Disposal Squad have conducted search operation Dir Colony and adjoining areas and detained several suspects in the door-to-door search.

Students aged 20-30 were killed in the blast. Most of those injured in the attack belonged to Afghanistan.

Police said that the attack targeted a class with Sheikh Rahimuddin Haqqani, a senior cleric and instructor. They suspect that Haqqani could be the target of the attack.

Haqqani, an Afghan national from Jalalabad, remained safe in the attack. Haqqani had survived a previous attempt to assassinate him four years ago.

A special interrogation team of officials has also been constituted to question the arrested suspects, Duniya News reported. Statements of eyewitnesses who had indicated about a bag by a suspected person have also been recorded, it said.

An FIR has been registered at the Counter Terrorism Department police station in Peshawar against unknown persons in connection with the case.