Pakistani Soldiers (Photo : Reuters)
The whole country of Pakistan is in deep mourning after a recent Taliban attack leaves more than 141 people dead, mostly children. Considered a severe act of cruelty, the attack just came hours after the infamous Sydney siege came to an end.
The attack which was claimed by the Islamic group Taliban, started early Tuesday morning when more than five armed gunmen stormed the military-run school in Peshawar. The attackers upon arrival started shooting the children and staff at will. The primary target of the attack was the Army Public School located in the north-west part of Peshawar, near the border to Afghanistan. This is considered as the most violent terrorist attack in the history of Pakistan.
Asim Bajwa, the spokesperson of the Pakistani military said in an official statement that 132 of those who perished in the attack were children who are students of the school. Additionally, more than 120 students and staffs were reportedly wounded.
Some students claimed that the attackers detonated a bomb after all of the students were gathered for an exam. Most of the students who were present during the attack were traumatized by the incident. One of the students who survived the ordeal described the perpetrators as men with long beards and wearing plain pajama-like pants with long shirts and they are also speaking Arabic to each other.
According to the Pakistani Army, the attackers who were reportedly wearing vests arrived at the school through a wire fence and started attacking students in the auditorium. The gunmen afterwards went to individual classrooms and started shooting at will. The whole ordeal went on for more than eight hours.
The Pakistani Taliban group justified that the attack was revenge for the army's ongoing offensive to clear the country of insurgency. However, the Taliban claimed that thousands of their innocent comrades had perished due to the army's campaign.
Different leaders from all over the world have already extended their sympathies to Pakistan condemning the Taliban perpetrators for their heinous crime.
After the incident, the bodies of the dead were immediately buried after dark as practiced in Islamic custom.
