141 killed
Taliban gunmen stormed a school in Pakistan 132 children are among them
Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar yesterday, killing at least 141 people, mostly children, before Pakistani officials declared a military operation to clear the school over, foreign news agencies reported.
As darkness fell on the area, officials said they had cleared the school of militants.
A Pakistani military spokesman, Asim Bajwa, said 141 people died in the attack, 132 children and nine staff members. He declared the operation over and said the area had been cleared. An additional 121 students and three staff members were wounded.
He said seven attackers, all wearing explosives vests, all died in the assault. It was not immediately clear if the militants were all killed by the soldiers or whether they blew themselves up, he said. Bajwa described an assault that seemed designed purely to terrorize the children rather than take anyone hostage to further the militant group’s aims.
“Their sole purpose, it seems, was to kill those innocent kids. That’s what they did,” he said.
The horrific attack, claimed by the Tehreek-eTaliban, a Pakistani militant group trying to overthrow the government, sent dozens of wounded flooding into local hospitals as terrified parents searched for their children.
The Tehreek-eTaleban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack as retaliation for a major military offensive in the region, saying militants had been ordered to shoot older students.
“My son was in uniform in the morning. He is in a casket now,” wailed one parent, Tahir Ali, as he came to the hospital to collect the body of his 14-yearold sonAbdullah. “My son was my dream. My dream has been killed.”
The attack began in the morning when the gunmen entered the school and started shooting at random. Army commandos quickly arrived at the scene and started exchanging fire with the gunmen. Students wearing green school uniforms could be seen fleeing the area on Pakistani television.
Outside the school, two loud booms of unknown origin were heard coming from the scene in the early afternoon, as Pakistani troops battled with the attackers. Armored personnel carriers were deployed around the school grounds, and a Pakistani military helicopter circled overhead.
Pakistani television showed soldiers surrounding the area and pushing people back. Ambulances streamed from the area to local hospitals.
The prime minister vowed that the country would not be cowed by the violence and that the military would continue with an aggressive operation launched in June to rout militants from the North Waziristan tribal area.
“The fight will continue. No one should have any doubt about it,” Sharif said.
Bajwa said that 1,099 students and staff were registered at the school.
It is part of a network of schools run by the Pakistani military around the country. The student body is made up of both children of military personnel as well as civilians.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif described the attack as a “national tragedy unleashed by savages”.
“These were my children. This is my loss. This is the nation’s loss,” he said.
“The attackers had long beards, wore shalwar kameez (traditional baggy clothes) and spoke Arabic.” The army said five Taliban militants had been killed and that they were searching for any remaining gunmen. The Taliban had earlier said they had sent six insurgents with suicide vests to attack the school.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and said he was on his way to Peshawar.
“I can’t stay back in Islamabad. This is a national tragedy unleashed by savages. These were my kids,” he said in a statement.
“This is my loss. This is the nation’s loss. I am leaving for Peshawar now and I will supervise this operation myself.” Military officials at the scene said at least six armed men had entered the military-run Army Public School. About 500 students and teachers were believed to be inside.
“We were standing outside the school and firing suddenly started and there was chaos everywhere and the screams of children and teachers,” said Jamshed Khan, a school bus driver.