At least 126 dead, many children, in raid that Pakistani Taliban says was retaliation for military's offensive
The Taliban attacked a military-run school on Tuesday, killing scores of students, because they wanted revenge for the Pakistani military targeting their own families, a spokesman said.
At least 126 people were killed and 122 injured, a provincial official said.
"It may rise," said Bahramand Khan, director of information for the Chief Minister's Secretariat.
He said more than 100 of the dead were children.
It was not immediately clear whether some or all of the children and adults were killed by the gunmen or in the ensuing battle with Pakistani security forces trying to gain control of the building after the early morning attack.
About 500 students and teachers were believed to be inside the school at the time of the raid. The school is located on the edge of a military cantonment in Peshawar, but most of the students are civilian.
Muhammad Khorasani, spokesmand for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban, told Al Jazeera that six suicide bombers were sent to the school with orders to allow the youngest students to leave, but to kill the rest.
The attack was in retaliation to an ongoing Pakistan Army operation against the TTP and its allies in the North Waziristan tribal area, Khorasani said.
“We selected the army's school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females," he said. "We want them to feel the pain.”
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and said he was on his way to Peshawar.
“This is a national tragedy unleashed by savages. These were my kids,” he said in a statement. The attack began in the morning hours, with an initial blast as the attackers hit the school, followed by a second explosion.
Gunmen entering the school — which has students in grades 1 through10 — and shooting at random, said police officer Javed Khan. Outside the school, shooting was initially heard along with one loud bang of unknown origin. Details were sketchy in the unfolding situation and it was unclear what was going on inside and if there were any hostages among the students.
Army commandos quickly arrived at the scene and exchanged fire with the gunmen, said Khan. Small-arms fire was heard throughout the raid as security forces tried to retake the school.
Pakistani television showed soldiers surrounding the area and pushing people back. It was not clear whether the soldiers were already on the scene when the violence began or was part of the troops who responded.
“We were standing outside the school and firing suddenly started and there was chaos everywhere and the screams of children and teachers,” said Jamshed Khan, a school bus driver.
Shaukat Yousafzai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's health minister, said a school function had been going on in the senior section of the school when an explosion went off. There were reports of as many as three explosions.
“This is a very saddening event, and these are our children, the children of Pakistan. By killing these children, I am not sure what service these terrorists have done to Islam.”
A heavy contingent of security forces arrived at the school shortly after the attack began and launched the rescue operation.
The army said in a statement that many hostages had been evacuated but did not say how many.
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.
The Pakistani military began Operation Zarb-e-Azb against the TTP and its allies on June 15, and says that it has so far retaken larges areas of territory from the group, killing more than 1,270 people
The army is also carrying out a military operation in Khyber Agency, which borders Peshawar, where it says it has killed at least 179 fighters.
The Pakistani Taliban have vowed to step up attacks in response to a major army operation against the insurgents in the tribal areas.
They have targeted security forces, checkpoints, military bases and airports, but attacks on civilian targets with no logistical significance are relatively rare.
Al Jazeera and wire services