Taliban militants blow up schools; kidnap 18 tribesmen

Militants today blew up two schools and kidnapped 18 tribesmen in Pakistan's Khyber tribal region in the restive NWFP, where troops are battling pro-Taliban rebels, officials said.

Militants today blew up two schools and kidnapped 18 tribesmen in Pakistan's Khyber tribal region in the restive NWFP, where troops are battling pro-Taliban rebels, officials said.

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A boy's high school and a middle school were blasted with explosives in Landikotal sub-division of Khyber Agency
early this morning.

The explosions caused widespread damage though there were no casualties because the schools were empty at the time
of the attack, officials said.

The officials also said 18 members of the Zaodin tribe were kidnapped by armed militants. A few days ago,
militants tried to kidnap an elder of the same tribe but tribesmen foiled the attempt.

The elder and a militant were killed in a subsequent gun battle. Militants retaliated by kidnapping 18 Zaodin
tribesmen.

They were shifted to an unknown place, officials said. The Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Islam led by Mangal Bagh
Afridi are active in Khyber Agency.

Militants who describe co-education as un-Islamic and want the imposition of Shariah or Islamic law have destroyed
hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in northwest Pakistan.

Militants in the last two years have blasted more than 187 schools in the restive North West Frontier Province.