A suicide attack at an Islamic religious school in Pakistan known as the “University of Jihad” where key Taliban leaders have studied killed four people on Friday, police said.
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Among those who died was Hamid ul Haq, the head of the Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania school, in Akora Khattak, about 60km (35 miles) east of Peshawar.
“Hamid ul Haq has been martyred, and it appears he was the target of the suicide bomber,” Abdul Rasheed, the district police chief, told AFP, adding that four people were killed and 13 wounded in the blast.
The explosion happened as people gathered for weekly Friday prayers, the most important of the week.
“The explosion happened in the first row, in front of the imam. It was prayer time, but it is not clear if it happened as people stood for prayer,” said district police officer Noor Ali Khan.
The sprawling campus in Pakistan’s Akora Khattak is home to roughly 4,000 students who are fed, clothed and educated for free.
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