Massive Jihad Slaughter: 145 dead in Taliban attack on school, hundreds of children held hostage
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UPDATE: Update at 2:06 p.m. ET. 145 Dead:
Citing government officials, Dawn, the New York Times and the BBC are now putting the death toll at at least 140, most of them children.
More tolerance and interfaith dialogue from another one of Obama’s peace partners — the Taliban. What do they want? Islamic law, Islamic rule, of course. And like Muhammad, like will slaughter, maim, annihilate to get it.
Children.
This attack is eerily reminiscent of the Islamic attack on the school in Beslan, where hundreds of children were taken hostage and tortured.
Fighting was still underway in some parts of the school.
It was not clear how many students and staff remained still inside the facility. A student who escaped and a police official on the scene earlier said that at one point, about 200 students were being held hostage.
126 dead in Taliban attack on schoolbyBy Associated Press via NY Post, December 16, 2014126 dead in Taliban attack on school
A soldier escorts schoolchildren from the school that was attacked by Taliban gunmen. Photo: ReutersPESHAWAR, Pakistan — Taliban gunmen stormed a military-run school in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Tuesday, killing 126 people, officials said, in the worst attack to hit the country in years.The overwhelming majority of the victims were students at the army public school, which has children and teenagers in grades 1-10.Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the assault and rushed to Peshawar to show his support for the victims.The violence began in the morning hours, with about half a dozen gunmen entering the school.Photo: APThe horrific attack, carried out by a relatively small number of militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban group, a Pakistani militant group trying to overthrow the government, also sent dozens of wounded flooding into local hospitals as terrified parents searched for their children.The overwhelming majority of the victims were students at the army public school, which has children and teenagers in grades 1-10.Photo: AP“My son was in uniform in the morning. He is in a casket now,” wailed one parent, Tahir Ali, as he came to the hospital to collect the body of his 14-year-old son Abdullah. “My son was my dream. My dream has been killed.”The attack was carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban group, a Pakistani militant group trying to overthrow the government.Photo: APThe attack began in the morning hours, with about half a dozen gunmen entering the school – and shooting at random, said police officer Javed Khan. Army commandos quickly arrived at the scene and started exchanging fire with the gunmen, he said. Students wearing their green school uniforms could be seen on Pakistani television, fleeing the area.Outside the school, two loud booms of unknown origin were heard coming from the scene in the early afternoon, as Pakistani troops battled with the attackers. Armored personnel carriers were deployed around the school groundsDetails were sketchy in the face of the overwhelming tragedy. Pakistani television showed soldiers surrounding the area and pushing people back. Ambulances streamed from the area to local hospitals.
The information minister for the province, Mushtaq Ghani, said 126 people were killed in the attack. Most of the dead were students, children and teenagers, from the school, he said. Hospital officials said earlier that at least one teacher and a paramilitary soldier were among the dead.Pervez Khattak, the chief minister of the province where Peshawar is located, said fighting was still underway in some parts of the school.A plainclothes security officer escorts students rescued from a nearby school during the attack.Photo: APThe prime minister vowed that the country would not be cowed by the violence and that the military would continue with an aggressive operation launched in June in the North Waziristan tribal area to rout militants.“The fight will continue. No one should have any doubt about it,” Sharif said.Pervez Khattak, the chief minister of the province where Peshawar is located, said fighting was still underway in some parts of the school.Photo: Getty ImagesIt was not clear how many students and staff remained still inside the facility. A student who escaped and a police official on the scene earlier said that at one point, about 200 students were being held hostage. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.One of the wounded students, Abdullah Jamal, said that he was with a group of 8th, 9th and 10th graders who were getting first-aid instructions and training with a team of Pakistani army medics when the violence began for real.When the shooting started, Jamal, who was shot in the leg, said nobody knew what was going on in the first few seconds.“Then I saw children falling down who were crying and screaming. I also fell down. I learned later that I have got a bullet,” he said, speaking from his hospital bed.Another student, Amir Mateen, said they locked the door from the inside when they heard the shooting but gunmen blasted through the door anyway and began shooting.
Modal TriggerA Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to media, saying it was in revenge for the killings of Taliban members at the hands of Pakistani authorities.Photo: ReutersThe school is located on the edge of a military cantonment in Peshawar, but the bulk of the students are civilian.There was conflicting information about how many attackers carried out the violence, but it was a relatively small number.Taliban spokesman Mohammed Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack in a phone call to media, saying that six suicide bombers had carried out the attack in revenge for the killings of Taliban members at the hands of Pakistani authorities. But the chief minister said there were eight attackers, dressed in military uniforms. Two were killed by security forces and one blew himself up, Khattak said. The rest were still fighting.The Pakistani military spokesman, Asim Bajwa, said on Twitter that five militants had been killed and that security forces had rescued two children and two staff members.
Modal TriggerIt’s unclear how many students and staff remain inside the facility. A student who escaped and a police official on the scene earlier said that at one point, about 200 students were being held hostage.Photo: APPeshawar has been the target of frequent militant attacks in the past but has seen a relative lull recently.The Pakistani military launched a widespread military operation in the North Waziristan tribal area in June, vowing that it would go after all militant groups that had been operating in the area. With the launch of the operation, security officials and civilians feared a backlash by militants targeted by the military but until Tuesday a widespread backlash had failed to materialize.
Modal TriggerThe school is located on the edge of a military cantonment in Peshawar, but the bulk of the students are civilian.Photo: ReutersTuesday’s attack calls into question whether the militants have been crippled by the military or will be able to regroup. This appeared to be the worst attack in Pakistan since the 2008 suicide bombing in the port city of Karachi killed 150 people.The violence also underscored the vulnerability of Pakistani schools, which was dramatically exposed in the attack two years ago on Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani girl shot in the head by a Taliban gunman outside her school in Swat Valley for daring to speak up about girls’ rights. She survived, becoming a Nobel Prize laureate and global advocate for girls’ education.k.jagadeeshMobile: 91-9841121780, 9543187772.Web:http://www.bookbyte.com/searchresults.aspx?type=books&author=jagadeesh+krishnanWeb;http://issuu.com/home/publicationsWeb:Web: http://www.amazon.co.jp /s/ref=nb_sb_noss/378-4986394-6216105?__mk_ja_JP=カタカナ&url=search- alias%3Daps&field-keywords=jagadeesh+krishnanWEb:WEb:EmaiL: jagadeeshkri@gmail.com
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