The Taliban stormed a military-run school in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday and gunned down at least
126 people, most of them children, in one of the country's deadliest attacks in
recent weeks.
Hours
after the attack, the Pakistani military was still exchanging gunfire with the
militants inside the Army Public School and Degree College, in the
violence-plagued city of Peshawar, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the
country's capital, Islamabad.
Two
explosions were also heard. Continue..
By 3 p.m. Tuesday, it was unclear
how many of the hundreds of students were still inside the school.
The
Pakistani military said it had pushed the attackers to four blocks of the
school, and killed four.
The death
toll has steadily risen, and officials fear it will climb higher. The number of
injured was upwards of 100.
Most of
those who died were between the ages of 12 and 16, said Pervez Khattak, chief
minister of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Peshawar is located.
Scaling
the walls
In a
telephone call to CNN, the Pakistan Taliban -- Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
-- said six suicide bombers scaled the walls of the school with orders to kill
older students about 10 a.m.
The
Taliban said "300 to 400 people are under the custody of the suicide
bombers."
The
military had earlier said most students and teachers had been evacuated.
Revenge
attack
Mohammed
Khurrassani, the TTP spokesman, told CNN the attack was revenge for the killing
of hundreds of innocent tribesmen during repeated army operations in provinces
including South Waziristan, North Waziristan and the Khyber Agency -- all
restive regions along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
For the
past few months, the Pakistan military has been conducting a ground offensive
aimed at clearing out militants in these areas. The campaign has displaced tens
of thousands of people.
READ: Pakistan offensive leaves
'ghost towns'
Northwestern
Pakistan is home to loosely governed tribal areas. It's also a base for foreign
fighters and a refuge for members of the Taliban and other militant groups.
Violent
past
The
military offensive in the region has spurred deadly retaliations.
In
September, choir members and children attending Sunday school were among 81
people killed in a suicide bombing at the Protestant All Saints Church of
Pakistan. A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for
the church attack, blaming the U.S. program of drone strikes in tribal areas of
the country.
Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif rushed to Peshawar, declared three days of mourning, and
said he would personally oversee the operation to flush out the militants.
Peace
falters
As
recently as last spring, The Taliban and the Pakistani government were involved
in peace talks. The government released 19 Taliban noncombatants in a goodwill
gesture.
But talks
broke down under a wave of attacks by the Taliban and mounting political
pressure to bring the violence under control.
CNN's
Sophia Saifi reported from Islamabad, along with journalists Zahir Shah and
Adeel Raja. CNN's Paul Armstrong wrote from Hong Kong.
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