Karachi, March 31: In a spine-chilling attack, suspected Taliban militants threw a tennis ball packed with explosives inside a private secondary school in Ittehad Town on Saturday, and then opened fire killing the principal, and injuring three girls and a retired school teacher.
Bomb disposal squad experts said, the explosion was caused by a tennis ball, which contained 250 grammes of explosives. It also contained ball bearings, reports the newspaper Express Tribune.
Saturday's attack was part of the Taliban's killing spree aimed against Awami National Party leaders and supporters.
Nation Secondary School principal, 45-year-old Abdul Rasheed Khan, who was killed in the attack, was also the vice-president of Awami National Party's district west.
The school is located in Baldia Ittehad Town's Rehmania Muhalla, considered a Taliban stronghold.
Even though it was a weekend, the school was open for its annual day for distribution of prizes.
The above picture in this story shows the students posing with their teachers inside the school minutes after the militants carried out the gruesome attack.
Nearly 500 students had gathered when the explosion took place.
According to witnesses, a young man in salwar kameez and a light beard threw a tennis ball carrying explosives and then started firing indiscriminately.
“The magic show was going on when the blast occurred,” said Gul Khair Ali, a school employee who was injured in the firing.
“First we thought that the loud bang was part of the magic show. Then the firing started and then we couldn't figure out what happened.”
Another witness said one of the two armed men also entered the school and opened fire. “The principal was standing near the gate,” he said.
“He tried to run to save his life but the shooters kept firing and several others were also hit as a result.”
The suspects walked over to the school and they escaped on foot. After crossing a street outside the school, they snatched a motorcycle and escaped towards the road leading to Manghopir.
Besides the principal, a retired scho ol teacher, 62-year-old Mian Syed, who was also an ANP leader, Ali and three students, Tahira Nazeer, 10, Amna Kareem, 8, and the principal's daughter Atiya Rasheed, 12, were wounded.
Hospital officials said, the principal was shot at least five times and he died shortly after he was brought in.
The injured students were released after first aid, while the retired teacher and a school employee are still in hospital. However, none of the injuries resulted from the explosion.
The victims were injured in the firing or the resulting stampede.
Police found at least 30 bullet shells of 30-bore pistol.
SP Shahjahan Khan said, the principal was on the hit list of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
The ANP has lost its top three leaders in district West – Ameer Sardar, Saeed Ahmed Khan and Hanif Khan Advocate – at the hands of Taliban.
