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Taliban gunmen stormed a school in Pakistan and shot dead at least 141 people, mostly children, in the worst attack to hit the country in years.
Officials said 132 of the victims at the army-run school, in the northwestern city of Peshawar, were children, some as young as 12, while nine others were staff members. All seven attackers were also killed.
The horrific attack, carried out by militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban, a group trying to overthrow the Pakistani government, also sent dozens of wounded flooding into hospitals as terrified parents searched for their children.
Watch: Carnage as Taliban storm Pakistan school, kill at least 141

 
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the assault and rushed to Peshawar.
Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai, 17, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for insisting girls had a right to an education, said she was "heartbroken" by "the senseless and cold blooded" killing.
United States President Barack Obama condemned the "heinous attack" saying "terrorists have once again shown their depravity." He said the US stands by the people of Pakistan and supports the country "in its efforts to combat terrorism and extremism and to promote peace and stability in the region."

Tahir Ali, arriving at the hospital to collect the body of his 14-year-old son Abdullah, said: "My son was in uniform in the morning. He is in a casket now. My son was my dream. My dream has been killed."
The attack began in the morning, when the seven gunmen wearing explosive vests entered the school and started shooting at random, police said. Army commandos exchanged fire with the gunmen and students wearing their green school uniforms could be seen fleeing the area.
Outside the school, two loud booms were heard coming from the scene in the early afternoon, as Pakistani troops battled with the attackers.

The 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.
The Pakistani military said all seven gunmen had been killed, but bombs they planted were hampering the speed of the clearance.

Taliban spokesman Mohammed Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack, saying six suicide bombers had carried out the attack in revenge for the killings of Taliban members at the hands of Pakistani authorities.
This appeared to be the worst attack in the nation since the 2008 Karachi suicide bombing killed 150 people.


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Taliban

Taliban kill at least 141 in attack at school in Peshawar, Pakistan

The coffin of a pupil, killed in the school attack by militants, is carried from a hospital in Peshawar. Photo: Xinhua

Volunteers carry a student injured in the attack to a local hospital. Photo: AP

Hospital security guards carry an injured schoolboy. Photo: AP

Volunteers rush an injured student to hospital. Photo: AP

Ambulances rush the injured from the scene of the attack to hospitals in Peshawar. Photo: Reuters

Relatives gather to identify bodies of school children at a hospital in Peshawar. Photo: EPA

Pakistani soldiers take part in an operation against militants near the attack site. Photo: Xinhua

Teenage survivor of Taliban attack in Pakistan ‘played dead to survive’

People light candles to mourn the dead from the Army Public School in Peshawar. Photo: AFP

Pakistani security forces are pictured outside the school during the Taliban siege. Photo: EPA

Upswing of violence in Pakistan as wave of militant attacks claim 27 

Security personnel gather at the site of a car bomb attack targeting a judge at an anti-terrorism court in Quetta. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Children are majority of victims in Pakistan's worst attack in years


Taliban gunmen stormed a school in Pakistan and shot dead at least 141 people, mostly children, in the worst attack to hit the country in years.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Children are majority of victims in Pakistan's worst attack in years

Children are majority of victims in Pakistan's worst attack in years