Blast in Pakistani Islamic school kills at least 11
NEW DELHI. June 13. KAZINFORM At least 11 people died and dozens were wounded as a bomb exploded in an Islamic school in Pakistan's second largest province of Punjab on Monday, national media said, Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.
The explosion went off in a village near the town of Mian Channu, local police chief Kamran Khan was quoted as saying by the Dawn TV channel.
The building, where local children were being taught about Islam, was completely destroyed by the explosion, about 40 mud-built houses in the area collapsed, and many people remain trapped under rubble, he added.
At least seven of the victims are believed to be children. A spokesman for a local hospital said about 60 people were wounded.
Pakistani troops are currently engaged in a major offensive to expel dug-in radical Islamic Taliban fighters from near the Afghan border.
However, Al Jazeera reported that the blast may have been an accident rather than a deliberate attack, citing local theories that the village had been used to store arms or explosives, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru for full version.