Prior to the fasting month of Ramzan, local police say, a powerful suicide bomb exploded at a mosque within a pro-Taliban seminary or religious school in northwestern Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, killing at least five worshippers and injuring dozens more.
The blast occurred in Akkora Khattak, a district located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to Abdul Rashid, the district police chief. He mentioned that authorities are currently investigating the incident, and the deceased and injured individuals are being taken to hospitals.
The seminary known for its ties to the Afghan Taliban, Jamia Haqqania, has received no immediate claims of responsibility, according to the Associated Press.
The bombing occurred just before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, anticipated to begin on either Saturday or Sunday depending on the lunar sighting. This institution has earned the nickname “University of Jihad” due to its intense ideology and the significant number of Taliban fighters it has trained. The vast campus houses around 4,000 students, all of whom receive food, clothing, and education at no cost.
For many years, Pakistani madrassas have functioned as breeding grounds for militancy, indoctrinating tens of thousands of refugees who have limited educational alternatives beyond the fervent teachings of extremist clerics.
The late founder of the Taliban, Mullah Omar, who spearheaded an insurgency against U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, was one of the prominent leaders to graduate from the institution.
Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the notorious Haqqani network, was also implicated in some of the most devastating attacks in Afghanistan throughout the two-decade-long war.
For years, the school has been located at the intersection of regional militant violence, providing education to numerous Pakistanis and Afghan refugees. Some of these individuals have returned to their home countries to fight against Russian and American forces or to propagate jihad.
The Taliban regained control of Kabul in August 2021 following the withdrawal of foreign troops and the collapse of the previous government. Since then, militancy has seen a resurgence in Afghanistan’s border regions. According to the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security Studies, last year marked the deadliest period in a decade for Pakistan, with a significant increase in attacks resulting in over 1,600 fatalities. Islamabad has accused the Taliban-led government of not taking adequate measures to eliminate militants operating from Afghan territory, who are believed to be planning assaults on Pakistan—a claim the Taliban government has rejected. In response to a recent suicide bombing at an Islamic religious school historically linked to the Taliban, the Afghan government issued a strong condemnation. “We firmly denounce the attack, viewing the perpetrators as enemies of our faith. We are doing our utmost to eradicate such threats,” stated Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry, while attributing the unclaimed attack to the Islamic State group
