Pishawar School Attack-2014

 Peshawar School Attack

Taliban militants attacked an Army Public School in Peshawar Pakistan on December 16 2014. This was the deadliest terrorist attack ever to occur in Pakistan. Seven gunmen entered the school and opened fire on school staff and children. In this attack 141 lives including 132 school children had dead. A rescue operation was launched by the Special Service Groups (SSG) that ended in eight hours killing all seven militants and rescuing 960 people. At least 130 people have been injured in the attack.



The attack began at around noon when six gunmen entered the school from the backside of the school. They wore the uniforms of Pakistani Frontier Corps. Before entering the school the gunmen set fire to the Suzuki Bolan ST41 van in which they arrived. The terrorists, bearing automatic weapons, moved straight towards the auditorium located at the center of the complex and opened fire indiscriminately on the children who were gathered there for a school function.

 According to the spokesman of the Pakistan military, Major-General Asim Bajwa, the terrorists did not intend to take any hostages, rather they wanted to kill as many students as they could. As they opened fire on the students, many of the students ran towards the two exits on the other side of the auditorium but many of them were gunned down by the militants in the garden. Reports also surfaced that students were forced to watch teachers burned alive before them.

 Within 10-15 minutes, the Quick Reaction Force of the Pakistan Army had reached the school and entered the premises from two sides. The gunmen moved to the administration block of the school and took hostages there. One of them was gunned down by the military personnel near the auditorium while the other six managed to make it to the administration block.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army's Special Services Group commandos had reached the area and surrounded the administration block. Most of the operation took place in the attempt to clear this block and rescue the hostages taken by the gunmen. Three terrorists were killed by the SSG shooters from the windows and air vents while the other three were gunned down when the commandos stormed the building and rescued many hostages in the process. Seven commandos including 2 officers were injured in the battle. A search and clearance operation was started immediately to defuse any IEDs planted by the gunmen within the school premises as well as the suicide vests that the terrorists were wearing.
A total of 1099 students and staff were present in the school premises and the forces were successful in rescuing 960 of them. Of these, 121 were injured. A total of 132 children and 9 staff were killed in the attack.

The spokesperson of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Mohammad Omar Khorasani, took the responsibility for the attack and said it was revenge for Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the Pakistani army's offensive in North Waziristan that started in summer 2014. He said that TTP wants the army to feel their pain as they have killed their families and women.
“Our six fighters successfully entered the army school and we are giving them instructions from outside,” the Taliban spokesman, Muhammad Khorasani said by phone.