Taliban
gunmen stormed into a Pakistan school today and killed at least 141 people,
most of them children, before army commandos swept in and halted the siege.
The attack
at the Army Public School — a military-run facility in the northwestern city of
Peshawar for students in grades 1-10 — began in the early morning when gunmen
entered the school and shot at random.
Army
commandos quickly arrived at the scene and exchanged fire with the gunmen. Sources said nine militants were killed.
Taliban
spokesman Mohammed Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone
call to news media, saying six suicide bombers carried out the attack in
revenge for the killings of Taliban members by Pakistani authourities.
Pakistani
army Gen. Asim Bajwa tweeted that "several ops" had been launched by
Pakistan after the attack, including 10 airstrikes. Pehsawar sits near the
border with Afghanistan, the primary base of operations for the Taliban.
Peshawar has been the target of frequent militant attacks in recent years — in
September 2013 a twin suicide bomb blast in a Peshawar church killed at least
85 people.
President Obama was among numerous heads of
state who condemned the attack. President Obama said, "Our hearts and
prayers go out to the victims, their families, and loved ones," Obama said
in a statement. "By targeting students and teachers in this heinous
attack, terrorists have once again shown their depravity. We stand with the
people of Pakistan, and reiterate the commitment of the United States to
support the government of Pakistan in its efforts to combat terrorism and
extremism and to promote peace and stability in the region."
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani Nobel Peace
Prize winner who was shot in the head by the Taliban two years ago, issued a
statement saying that "innocent children in their school have no place in
horror such as this." She added that she and millions of others
"mourn these children, my brothers and sisters — but we will never be
defeated."
Source:
USAtoday
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