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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : December 17, 2014 3:01 PM IST
'It was fourth period of the day and we all were in our classes. They (the terrorists) were carrying guns in their hands,' a young school student told the media after a terrifying attack on the Army Public School building located at Warsik Road in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. So far reports have revealed that about 130 kids have been killed and 122 have been injured. (Read: Facts you should know about blood donation)
Hospitals including Lady Reading Hospital and Combined Military Hospital (CMH) where majority of attack victims have been hospitalised are facing shortage of blood. The hospitals have requested blood banks, citizens and other hospitals to urgently donate blood to the victims, emphasising the acute shortage of O negative blood. (Read: 5 myths on blood donation busted)
The terrorist attack took place after a team of terrorists set up a vehicle on fire and stormed into the Army Public School in Peshawar. The television footage showed the school children shocked and in tears. Some of them had blood on their faces. One of the students was carried away on a stretcher while another leaned onto a security personnel who helped him away.
'Our principal told our teacher that the students have to be evacuated. Suddenly we saw army personnel arriving,' the student said. The wounded and bloodied were carried away while anxious parents waited for news outside. Over 500 students and teachers were trapped inside the building, with eyewitnesses saying they saw some of the wounded lying in the corridors.
Unconfirmed reports said that the auditorium was packed with students who were taking their exams. The students were initially under the impression that it was yet another army drill and the horror sank in only after they saw school mates being hit by bullets. The school teachers apparently tried to shepherd the children to safety. Some were able to flee soon after the attack began at noon, while a few others were taken out to safety by the security personnel who responded promptly.
The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility and called it a revenge attack for the army operations in North Waziristan. The guerrillas carried out the attack on the school that is normally well guarded and is considered secure. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has confirmed that the children and staff are being evacuated from the building.
Some children said that the terrorists attacked the auditorium where they were appearing for their examinations. Uday, a lab assistant at the school, said: 'I was hiding for one hour. The army came. They (the terrorists) numbered six-seven. They had big rifles.' Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak have condemned the violent incident and ordered the safe rescue of the children trapped inside the school. Sharif has directed Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to coordinate the rescue operation in Peshawar with security forces to ensure all possible help that needs to be extended to them.
Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) leader Sirajul Haq has condemned the incident and said that the whole country stood with the families of the deceased, Dawn online reported. 'Attack on innocent children in the name of religion is not acceptable,' Haq tweeted.
With inputs from IANS
Image source: Getty images
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