Death toll in Peshawar school attack mounts to 126: Official
Three of the attackers were killed whereas 4 to 5 militants were still presented in the school.
PESHAWAR (Dunya News) – Spokesperson Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Tuesday confirmed that the death toll as a result of the attack on Army Public School on Wasak Road mounted to126.
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) condemned the attack on military-run school in Peshawar.
Talking to the media CM KP informed that more than 100 children have been martyred. 24 bodies and 43 injured have been shifted to the Lady reading Hospital while 60 bodies and 40 injured have been shifted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH).
CM KP stated 8-10 militants entered the Army Public School on Warsak Road around 10:30 am. Three of the attackers were killed whereas 4 to 5 militants were still presented in the premise of the school.
He said the attackers were dressed in Frontier Corps (FC) uniform.
KP government announced three-day mourning across province.
According to early reports, at least 23 students, a female teacher, a male teacher and a security official died and 46 injured as armed militants attacked Army Public School at Warsak Road in Peshawar on Tuesday keeping students hostage.
An operation is underway while the firing has ceased. Militants attacked when a ceremony was underway at school. Most of the injured were being shifted to Lady Reading hospital for medical assistance. Police contingents and security forces reached the site immediately, besieged and cordoned off the area. Security forces have been able to rescue four students yet while the terrorist were still in the school. The area under attack is aerially inspected.
#Psr Update:Just arrived Psr.Rescue ops underway.Corps Comd http://t.co/fIZrYqaLNB Chief cut short visit,on his way from Quetta to Psr
— AsimBajwaISPR (@AsimBajwaISPR) December 16, 2014
Warsak Road has been blocked for traffic whereas worried parents have gathered outside the school while nobody is allowed to enter the premises of the school. Media coveraged has also been barred while the forces are chalking out counter strategy.
Outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for the army s continuing operation against militants in the North Waziristan tribal area close to Peshawar. A senior military official told AFP that troops had cordoned off the area around the school and were hunting down the militants. The school on Peshawar s Warsak Road is part of the Army Public Schools and Colleges System, which runs 146 schools nationwide for the children of military personnel and civilians. Its students range in age from around 10 to 18.
TTP spokesman Muhammad Khorasani told AFP there were six attackers. "They include target killers and suicide attackers. They have been ordered to shoot the older students but not the children," he said. "This attack is a response to Zarb-e-Azab and the killing of Taliban fighters and harassing their families."
Rescued student said militants bore modern weaponry wearing adorning black uniforms were targeting students. An other eye-witness informed that the terrorists were foreigners who were speaking Arabic.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), militants entered the auditorium and opened fire while exchange of gunshots is taking place between the forces and terrorists whereas several students and teachers were rescued by the security forces.
Provincial Minister Health Shahram Tarkai said an emergency has been launched in hospital whereas the number of casualities is not certain. List of the deceased would be displayed in the hospital within a few hours.
