Taliban blow up girls' school on outskirts of Peshawar

Intensifying their campaign against girls' education, Taliban militants blew up a government-run girls' high school on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Thursday, police said.

The school at Badaber, 10 km south of Peshawar, was destroyed when militants set off six explosive devices. Police said at least 40 kg of explosives was used in the attack. No casualties were reported as the school was closed for the summer vacation.

Taliban militants, who have described the education of girls as "un-Islamic", have carried out a series of bomb attacks targeting girls' schools in different part of the troubled North West Frontier Province.

The militants have torched close to 200 schools including 120 girls' institutions in the NWFP over the past one year.

Police in Peshawar have put in place strict security measures at entry points to the provincial capital following reports of possible terrorist attacks targeting government installations and crowded areas like parks and markets.

Peshawar has witnessed several deadly car bomb and suicide attacks in the past few weeks. Officials have said the attacks were carried out in retaliation for military operations against the Taliban in Buner, Dir and Swat districts of the NWFP.