Taliban storm school, killing at least 126
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar today, killing at least 126 people, officials said, in the worst attack to hit the country in years.
The overwhelming majority of the victims were students at the army public school, which has children and teenagers in grades 1-10. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the assault and rushed to Peshawar to show his support for the victims.
The horrific attack, carried out by a relatively small number of militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban, a Pakistani militant group trying to overthrow the government, also sent dozens of wounded flooding into local hospitals as terrified parents searched for their children.
“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-year-old son Abdullah. “My son was my dream. My dream has been killed.”
The attack began in the morning hours, with about half a dozen gunmen entering the school — and shooting at random, said police officer Javed Khan. Army commandos quickly arrived at the scene and started exchanging fire with the gunmen, he said. Students wearing their green school uniforms could be seen on Pakistani television, fleeing the area.
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.
Details were sketchy in the face of the overwhelming tragedy. Pakistani television showed soldiers surrounding the area and pushing people back. Ambulances streamed from the area to local hospitals.
The operation appeared to be winding down in the early evening. Pakistani military spokesman, Asim Bajwa, said on Twitter the operation to clear the school was “closing up.” He said 11 more staff members had been rescued from inside the school.
The information minister for the province, Mushtaq Ghani, said 126 people were killed in the attack. Most of the dead were students, children and teenagers from the school, he said. Hospital officials said earlier that at least one teacher and a paramilitary soldier were among the dead.
Pervez Khattak, the chief minister of the province where Peshawar is located, said fighting was still under way in some parts of the school.
The prime minister vowed the country would not be cowed by the violence and the military would continue with an aggressive operation launched in June in the North Waziristan tribal area to rout militants.
“The fight will continue. No one should have any doubt about it,” Sharif said.
It was not clear how many students and staff remained still inside the facility. A student who escaped and a police official on the scene earlier said that at one point, about 200 students were being held hostage.
The school is located on the edge of a military cantonment in Peshawar, but the bulk of the students are civilian.
There was conflicting information about how many attackers carried out the violence, but it was a relatively small number.
