Six Dead, 18 Hurt in Pakistan University Bombing

Posted on Oct 20, 2009

www.iiu.edu.pk

Two suicide bombers attacked two buildings at Islamabad’s International Islamic University on Tuesday.

As Pakistan’s army continued battling militants in southern Waziristan on Tuesday, two suicide bombers set off explosions at Islamabad’s International Islamic University, killing themselves and four others and wounding 18, according to The Associated Press.

Update: CNN reports that five people were killed at the university and 22 were injured, but it was unclear whether the bombers were counted among them.

AP via Google News:

Authorities have been warning that militants would try to bring the war to Pakistan’s cities since the army began its offensive. Many schools and universities were closed after receiving word from authorities on Monday they could be targeted.

After the attack, the government ordered all educational institutions closed for a week in three of the country’s four provinces.

The university is attended by 18,000 students. It has close to 2,000 international students, many from China. While it is a seat of Islamic learning, most students take secular courses such as management science or computer studies.

“Those who call themselves champions of Islam, they have today proved by attacking the Islamic university that they are neither friends of Islam nor Pakistan” said Interior Minister Rehman Malik, whose motorcade was stoned by angry students as he left the campus on the outskirts of Islamabad.

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