Fresh militant attacks on schools dismiss Pak Army's successful anti-Taliban offensive claim

Timergara (Pakistan), Aug. 8 (ANI): The continuing militant attacks on government schools in the Maidan region has nullified the Pakistani military's claim that 80 per cent of the area has been cleared of extremists under the ongoing offensive.

On Thursday night, an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by militants inside the Government Higher Secondary School, Zaimdara, exploded with a big bang, destroying a portion of the newly-constructed building, The Dawn reports.

Militants also destroyed the Government Primary School in Zaimdara, sources said.

Similarly, militants torched the Government High School, Bandai, Government High School, Chinar Kot, and the Government Primary School in the Gorh area of Maidan tehsil, Lower Dir.

A total of 49 schools have been damaged by militants or security forces' shelling in the region, an official of the education department confirmed.

The military authorities and government functionaries have declared time and again that the area has been cleared of militants, but incidents of destruction of schools by militants are still continuing. (ANI)