The siege of a school in Pakistan by Taliban militants has ended, leaving at least 141 people dead, most of them students.
Islamist militants wearing military uniforms and strapped with explosives attacked the military-run facility in the northwestern city of Peshawar. An army spokesman said security forces killed six of the attackers.
Military officials told reporters 132 of the dead were students about 12 to 16 years old. Nine school staff members are believed to have been killed as well.
An army spokesman said security forces killed six of the attackers. Police officials said the attack ended around 6.30 p.m. (1330 GMT), according to the French news agency AFP.
A provincial official said more than 120 others were wounded in the assault. VOA Dewaa Radio reporter Hameedullah Khan said more than 100 of the wounded are children.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was an act of retaliation for Pakistan’s offensive targeting militants in the country’s northwestern tribal region, near the Afghan border.
Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attacks.
Sharif, who arrived in Peshawar Tuesday, said the “government will not be deterred by this barbaric act” and vowed to continue military operations against the militants. He also declared a three-day national mourning period.
Source-VOA
