HOW THE TALIBAN ATTACK ON PAK SCHOOL UNFOLDED: SURVIVORS RECOUNT HORROR

Peshawar, Pakistan, 17^th December 2014: In accordance to Agencies, the Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday launched a savage and cowardly attack on a school, essentially for children of military families, spraying machine-gun fire on kids behind desks and leaving 132 of them dead.

• The rampage at the Army Public School and College began in the morning when seven militants scaled a back wall using a ladder, said Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa, a military spokesman.
• When they reached an auditorium where students had gathered for an event, they opened fire.
• About 400 students were in the hall when the gunmen broke through the doors and started shooting, said a 14-year-old Mehran Khan, who survived by playing dead.
• The seven attackers were wearing vests of explosives.
• They shot one of the teachers in the head and then set her on fire and shouted “God is great!” as she screamed, added Khan.
• From there, they went to classrooms and other parts of the school. The militants went from room to room shooting children as young as 12 during the eight-hour onslaught.
• Panic broke out when the shooting began.
• One of the wounded students, Abdullah Jamal, said he was with a group of eighth, ninth and 10th graders who were getting first-aid instructions and training with a team of army medics when the violence became real.
• I saw children falling down who were crying and screaming. I also fell down. I learned later that I have got a bullet, Abdullah Jamal said.
• Another student, Amir Mateen, said they locked the door from inside when they heard the shooting, but gunmen blasted through anyway and opened fire.
• Teenage survivor Shahrukh Khan said he and his classmates ducked below their desks when four gunmen burst into their room.
• “I saw a pair of big black boots coming towards me, this guy was probably hunting for students hiding beneath the benches,” said Khan, who Khan decided to play dead after being shot in both legs stuffing his tie into his mouth to stifle his screams.
• Responding to the attack, armored personnel carriers were deployed around the school, and a military helicopter circled overhead.
• All the seven attackers died in the eight-hour assault.
• In a statement to reporters, Taliban spokesman Mohammed Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retribution for the military’s operation in nearby North Waziristan, the northwestern tribal region where the group’s fighters largely have been based.

Source: TOI, New Delhi
Picture Source: Business Standard