- Title: PAKISTAN-SCHOOL/CHILDREN 84 children dead in Taliban school attack
- Date: 16th December 2014
- Summary: PESHAWAR , PAKISTAN (DECEMBER 16, 2014)(ORIGINALLY 4:3)(REUTERS) ARMY JEEP DRIVING PAST POLICE VANS ARRIVING SOLDIER MOTIONING TO SCHOOL BOYS TO CROSS ROAD SCHOOL BOY STANDING WITH FATHER SOLDIER FRISKING SCHOOLBOYS WHO WERE RESCUED BY THE ARMY VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS GETTING OUT OF VEHICLES VARIOUS OF SOLDIERS (SOUNDBITE) (Urdu) UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT SAYING: "As soon as the firing started, our teacher made us sit in a corner and told us to lower our heads. After around an hour, when the firing subsided a little, army personnel came and rescued us. When we came out we saw in the corridors, our friends who had been shot three or four times, some dead and some injured. Their blood had spilt all over the place." ARMY VEHICLE DRIVING A MOTHER ARRIVING AMBULANCE DRIVING AWAY VEHICLES CARRYING SOLDIERS DRIVING PAST
- Embargoed: 31st December 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Pakistan
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA6JG3W30PUAI9NHZJ8WQW6XT1A
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
At least 84 children have been killed in a Taliban attack on a school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday (December 16) , a provincial official said.
Troops surrounded the building and an operation was under way to rescue the remaining children, the army said. A Reuters journalist at the scene said he could hear heavy gunfire from inside the school.
Pervaiz Khattak, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province of which Peshawar is the capital, said 84 children had been killed.
In an atmosphere of uncertainty, students who had been rescued were frisked by soldiers before being allowed to move away from the site of the attack.
One unidentified student described the scene.
"As soon as the firing started, our teacher made us sit in a corner and told us to lower our heads. After around an hour, when the firing subsided a little, army personnel came and rescued us. When we came out we saw in the corridors, our friends who had been shot three or four times, some dead and some injured. Their blood had spilt all over the place," he said.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and said he was on his way to Peshawar.
It was not immediately clear whether some or all of the children were killed by the gunmen or in the ensuing battle with Pakistani security forces trying to gain control of the building.
Outside, helicopters hovered overhead and ambulances ferried wounded children to hospital.
An unspecified number of children were still being held hostage in the school, a provincial official said, speaking some three hours after the attack began.
The Pakistani Taliban, who are fighting to topple the government and set up a strict Islamic state, have vowed to step up attacks in response to a major army operation against the insurgents in the tribal areas.
They have targeted security forces, checkpoints, military bases and airports, but attacks on civilian targets with no logistical significance are relatively rare.
In September, 2013, dozens of people, including many children, were killed in an attack on a church, also in Peshawar. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None