Suicide bomber kills teenager in Pakistan

PESHAWAR - A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a government school in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing a teenage boy, officials said.

The incident happened in the Shiite-dominated Ibrahimzai area of Hangu district and has not yet been claimed by any group.

“A suicide bomber blew himself up near the main gate of a government boys school, killing a young student aged 14,” district police chief Iftikhar Ahmad told AFP.

He said the boy sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital where he died. A local intelligence official also confirmed the incident.

The Taliban have blown up hundreds of schools, especially for girls, as part of a campaign against secular education in northwest Pakistan in recent years.

But it is not clear whether the latest incident is connected to the militant group or sectarian unrest.

Hangu borders Orakzai tribal region, one of Pakistan’s seven lawless tribal districts on the Afghan border considered to be the hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.

The district also has a history of sectarian violence and was declared a “sensitive region” during the month of Moharram, considered especially holy by Shiites.

Pakistan is rife with sectarian clashes, with Sunni militant groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban often attacking gatherings by Shiites, who constitute some 20 percent of the country’s population.