A suicide attack on the Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania religious school, commonly known as the “University of Jihad,” in Pakistan’s Akora Khattak left four people dead and 13 injured on Friday. The attack hit the influential institution that many of the key Taliban leaders, including the late Mullah Omar, were educated.
Hamid ul Haq, the head of the madrasa, was one of the victims. He was the son of the late Sami ul Haq, a prominent cleric widely known by his nickname ‘Father of Taliban’. They believe Haq was the main target of the attack. Hamid ul Haq was martyred, and it seems the suicide bomber targeted him, as the district police chief Abdul Rasheed declared.
The explosion was inside the mosque on the sprawling campus that accommodates nearly 4,000 students who are educated free of charge, fed and housed. It happened at the time of the largest weekly prayer Jummah, leaving worshippers in chaos. “The explosion took place right in front of the imam, at the first row. But it was prayer time, and Noor Ali Khan, district police officer, did not say if it happened while people stood for prayer.”
Nobody has claimed immediate responsibility for the attack. Yet, the past few years have seen a surge in militant activity in Pakistan, mostly carried out by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other groups. The heavily guarded premises are believed to have been breached by the suicide bomber, which means security forces have launched an investigation into how he did it.
The attack also adds an issue of corruption in the region and breaches throughout the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that remains receptive to Taliban sympathizer influence. The radicals have long associated the madrasa with supporting fighters for a host of militant groups. It adds to the security challenges Pakistan faces in the battle against extremism.
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