Bomb at Pakistani Islamic seminary leaves eight dead

A prominent Islamic scholar was delivering a lecture on Tuesday morning at the main hall of the Jamia Zubairia seminary in northwest Pakistan when the bomb exploded. Some 136 people sustained injuries, and officials expect the death toll to rise. Waqar Azim, a police officer, said initial investigations revealed the bomb went off after someone left a bag in the seminary. Police said the attack included about 11 pounds of explosives.

Who was behind the attack? No group claimed responsibility, but Pakistani intelligence issued a warning on Monday that militants could target important buildings and public places, including seminaries and mosques in the targeted city of Peshawar. The Pakistani Taliban and sectarian violence have targeted mosques and seminaries across the country. An earlier bombing on Sunday killed at least three people in the southwestern city of Quetta.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Lynde Langdon's report in The Sift on a 2014 bombing in the city of Peshawar.