Security high alert declared in Islamabad after Peshawar blast

ISLAMABAD: The Police has announced security high alert in Islamabad after this morning’s bomb blast at a madrassah in Peshawar claimed seven lives and injured dozens of others, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

A spokesperson of the capital city police in a statement said that the I.G. Police Islamabad has directed for stepping up checking at the entry and exit points of the city.

“Security has been stepped up at the Red Zone and government and other buildings in the city,” police spokesman said.

The police chief has directed the DIG Police (Operations) and other department officers to personally inspect the security.

The I.G. Police has also directed the officers to visit Imambargahs, religious seminaries and inspect the level of security.

At least seven people were killed and more than 70 others injured – most of them children – in a blast at a madrassah in Peshawar’s Dir Colony this morning.

Those killed and injured include madrassah students aged between nine and 15 years. Health officials fear that the death toll from the blast may rise as many of the injured are in critical condition.

Police and rescue teams rushed the spot and shifted the injured to Lady Reading Hospital, where a medical emergency was declared with medics and paramedics called to cope with the situation.

A police officer said initial reports suggest an improvised explosive device (IED) was used in the blast with four to five kilogrammes of explosives and ball bearings. The blast ripped through the seminary at a time when Quran class was ongoing.

Witnesses say a man brought a bag inside the seminary, after which the explosion occurred.