Peshawar, Sep 20: At least five people have been killed and 10 were injured in an explosion at a madrassa (religious school) run by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam in Quetta.

Television footage on Friday showed a gaping hole in the seminary’s external wall. The seminary is located on the outskirts of Quetta.

“The madrassa people say that someone threw explosives into the madrassa, but we are investigating,” said police official Wazir Khan Nasir.

The Daily Times quoted police officer Raja Ishtiaq as saying that the blast occurred inside the room and that police were investigating how the bomb reached there.

“We are looking into all possibilities including whether they were preparing some explosives,” another police official said.

A witness who identified himself as Shahbaz Ahmad said students had been scuffling with a man who tried to push past them after they asked him why he wanted to enter the compound.

“When they barred his way, he blew himself up,” Ahmad, a young man with a black beard, told reporters.

Ahmad had no visible wounds, but moments later, he collapsed unconscious and doctors rushed to revive him. The madrassa is situated about 15 kilometres north of Quetta. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the explosion so far.

Later on Friday, unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle fired at a police patrol vehicle in Quetta, killing one officer and wounding a policeman and a passer-by. It was unclear if the two incidents were related. (ANI)