Two girls' schools blown up in ‘militant act’ in Pakistan’s northwest — police

PESHAWAR: Two girls' schools in Pakistan’s northwestern North Waziristan district were blown up late on Sunday night, a senior police official said on Monday, as Islamabad has declared a new offensive against militants following a resurgence of attacks, including a mosque bombing that killed more than 100 people in February.
No group has as yet taken responsibility for the explosions, District Police Officer Saleem Riaz told Arab News, though the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, have been behind most attacks against the state that have become more frequent since last November when the group revoked a ceasefire and peace talks with the government in Islamabad collapsed.
“This is a militant act,” Riaz said, adding that no one was hurt in the attacks as they took place late at night. He said police cases in the incidents would be filed under anti-terrorism laws.
In the past, Pakistani Taliban militants had banned female education in parts of northwest Pakistan that they ruled. Most militant strongholds have, however, been cleared since the Pakistan army launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb in June 2014 in North Waziristan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as a renewed effort against militancy following an attack on a main airport in Karachi. The overall security situation across the country remained stable for many years following the operation, with most militant leaders and fighters fleeing to neighboring Afghanistan, but attacks have picked up since late last year.
On Monday, Deputy Commissioner of North Waziristan, Rehan Gul Khattak, confirmed to Arab News that two girls' schools in the Mir Ali subdivision of North Waziristan had been blown up on the night of May 21.
“Two government girls’ middle schools were destroyed with explosives by unknown miscreants and perpetrators,” a report by the district administration seen by Arab News said, adding that the attacks took place between 10-11pm on Sunday night.
“The Government Girls Middle School, Younus Kot, Hassu Khel was the first [to be blown up]. A three-room portion of the school has been completely destroyed and four walls have been damaged,” the report said.
“20-25 minutes later, an explosive occurred at the Government Girls Middle School, Noor Jannat Gul Kot, Mossaki, due to which the school building was completely damaged.”
In the past, Pakistani Taliban and allied militants, who regard girls' education as anti-Islam, have attacked thousands of schools for young women in northwestern and northern parts of Pakistan. In 2012, the Pakistani Taliban shot and critically wounded Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai, known for her girls’ education advocacy in the northern Swat valley. At least 134 children were killed in a 2014 assault on an army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
“This was the first incident after the Zarb-e-Azb operation in which girls' school have been targeted,” Rasood Dawar, a Peshawar-based journalist who covers militancy, told Arab News. “Schools in North Waziristan were not targeted even before the Zarb-e-Azb operation because children of militants also went to the same schools.”
In the past, he added, militants only targeted the schools that were not functioning and in which they suspected soldiers were hiding. During military operations in Pakistan's northwest, Pakistani security forces routinely used schools and other government buildings as headquarters and hideouts. 
However, district police officer said both schools targeted on Sunday night were not being used by security forces for any purposes.
“The schools were functional schools,” Riaz said.