The Taliban stormed a military-run school in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, December 16, killing at least 145 people —132 children, 10 school staff members and three soldiers — marking one of the most horrific attacks Pakistan has ever seen. More than 100 people were also wounded in the attack.
The school is located in Peshawar, about 75 miles from the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad. The attacks began in the late morning when a car exploded behind the school. The explosion was a ruse to divert the attention of the school’s security guards. Unfortunately, the Taliban’s plan worked and while the guards were distracted, gunmen made their way over the walls of the school. The Taliban militants burst through the doors of a large auditorium where many students were taking an exam. The Taliban members swiftly gunned down almost everyone in the entire room. The Taliban members said that the militants scaled the schools walls at around 10 a.m (midnight ET), with the intention of killing older students there. Hours after the attack took place, Taliban members inside the Army Public School and Degree College were still exchanging gunfire with Pakistani troops. By around 4 p.m. (6 a.m. ET in the U.S.), the Pakistani military was able to push the Taliban militants into four of the school buildings. According to Pakistani soldiers, the Taliban militants were killed within the next few hours. After the militants were killed, Pakistani authorities searched the school looking for survivors and various explosives planted to worsen the damage of the school. The Pakistani officials discovered that the school’s principal was also killed. Most of the victims of the attack were between the ages of 12 and 16, but some adults in the school were also targets, such as a 28- year- old office assistant who was shot and then burned alive.
The Pakistani officials discovered that the militants came into the school with enough ammunition and supplies to last them for days and were most likely not expecting to come out of the invasion alive. The attack drew top Pakistani officials to announce their vow that the country would not stop its war against the Taliban.
Sources
http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/16/world/asia/pakistan-peshawar-school-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t1