A Taliban commander was communicating live with militants as they carried out the Pakistan school massacre that killed 148 people, according to one of the group's media units.
Mehsud Media, which is one of the Pakistani Taliban's (TTP) official media arms, released a statement claiming the attack was "conducted under direct supervision" of a commander named Omar Mansour who gave the terrorists "directions during the operation." The report was highlighted by Flashpoint Intelligence — a global security firm and NBC News counterterrorism consultant. The group also demanded that Pakistan halt all military operations, stop killing militants' relatives and release all of the women imprisoned by security forces. Officials must not "confront or detain Muslims in the future,
" Flashpoint quoted Mehsud Media as saying. The statement also warned that if the Pakistani Taliban's demands were not met, it "will be forced to target all the military and security institutions around the country." On Friday, Pakistan's army said it had killed 59 militants in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border.
Y MUSHTAQ YUSUFZAI, WAJAHAT S. KHAN, F. BRINLEY BRUTON AND ALASTAIR JAMIESON PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan was plunged into mourning Tuesday after Taliban militants in suicide vests laid siege to a school, massacring 132 children and 10 teachers during eight hours of sheer terror. In total, 145 people were killed, including three soldiers, officials said
One of my teachers was crying, she was shot in the hand and she was crying in pain,'' Shahrukh Khan, 15, who was shot in both legs but survived, told Reuters. "One terrorist then walked up to her and started shooting her until she stopped making any sound. "All around me my friends were lying injured and dead.'' A military source told NBC News that the attackers were wearing police uniforms and suicide vests. "They burnt a teacher in front of the students in a classroom," he said. "They literally set the teacher on fire with gasoline and made the kids watch."
The government of Pakistan declared three days of mourning for the lives lost. Desperate Scenes as Wounded Peshawar Students Receieve TreatmentNBC NEWS Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa, a military spokesman, told NBC News that at least 132 children were killed in the attack, along with 10 staff from the school — including the principal. Seven militants were killed and seven special forces soldiers were injured. "They didn't take any hostages initially and started firing in the hall," Bajwa also told a press conference.
Crying relatives roamed the wards and searched operating rooms, desperately searching for their sons and daughters. One room at at the Central Military hospital was filled with teenagers who had bullet wounds, shrapnel embedded in their flesh and burns. A doctor, Brig. Muhammad Waqar, said his son attends the school and he watched with dread as victim after victim was brought in "I was waiting for him to turn up dead in an ambulance," he said.
"I wanted to grab a gun and go to the school." The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, which Pakistani officials said appeared to be aimed at the children of senior military personnel. School Massacre Victim Describes Horrific Taliban Commander Directed Peshawar School Massacre in Real Time Uniformed militants struck shortly before 11 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) when about 1,000 students — in grades one through 10 — and teachers were believed to be inside. "We were standing outside the school and firing suddenly started and there was chaos everywhere and the screams of children and teachers," said Jamshed Khan, a school bus driver.
"The gunmen entered class by class and shot some kids one by one," one student who was in the Army Public School in Peshawar at the time told local media. As the siege continued and Pakistani security forces battled to stop the assault, five "heavy" explosions were heard from the school at around 5 a.m. ET. Bombs planted by the attackers slowed rescue efforts, a military official said, and the massacre was not declared over until after 9 a.m. ET.
When the shooting started, Jamal said nobody knew what was going on in the first few seconds. "Then I saw children falling down who were crying and screaming. I also fell down. I learned later that I have got a bullet," he said, speaking from his hospital bed. He had been shot in the leg. Hours after all the children had been removed from the school, soldiers angrily roamed the campus. "It's interesting that they came through this graveyard," said one officer, pointing to a cemetery adjacent to the school. "It's sad.
\By targeting students and teachers in this heinous attack, terrorists have once again shown their depravity," he said in a statement.Taliban Commander Directed Peshawar School Massacre in Real Time
Mehsud Media, which is one of the Pakistani Taliban's (TTP) official media arms, released a statement claiming the attack was "conducted under direct supervision" of a commander named Omar Mansour who gave the terrorists "directions during the operation." The report was highlighted by Flashpoint Intelligence — a global security firm and NBC News counterterrorism consultant. The group also demanded that Pakistan halt all military operations, stop killing militants' relatives and release all of the women imprisoned by security forces. Officials must not "confront or detain Muslims in the future,
" Flashpoint quoted Mehsud Media as saying. The statement also warned that if the Pakistani Taliban's demands were not met, it "will be forced to target all the military and security institutions around the country." On Friday, Pakistan's army said it had killed 59 militants in a northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border.
Y MUSHTAQ YUSUFZAI, WAJAHAT S. KHAN, F. BRINLEY BRUTON AND ALASTAIR JAMIESON PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan was plunged into mourning Tuesday after Taliban militants in suicide vests laid siege to a school, massacring 132 children and 10 teachers during eight hours of sheer terror. In total, 145 people were killed, including three soldiers, officials said
One of my teachers was crying, she was shot in the hand and she was crying in pain,'' Shahrukh Khan, 15, who was shot in both legs but survived, told Reuters. "One terrorist then walked up to her and started shooting her until she stopped making any sound. "All around me my friends were lying injured and dead.'' A military source told NBC News that the attackers were wearing police uniforms and suicide vests. "They burnt a teacher in front of the students in a classroom," he said. "They literally set the teacher on fire with gasoline and made the kids watch."
The government of Pakistan declared three days of mourning for the lives lost. Desperate Scenes as Wounded Peshawar Students Receieve TreatmentNBC NEWS Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa, a military spokesman, told NBC News that at least 132 children were killed in the attack, along with 10 staff from the school — including the principal. Seven militants were killed and seven special forces soldiers were injured. "They didn't take any hostages initially and started firing in the hall," Bajwa also told a press conference.
Crying relatives roamed the wards and searched operating rooms, desperately searching for their sons and daughters. One room at at the Central Military hospital was filled with teenagers who had bullet wounds, shrapnel embedded in their flesh and burns. A doctor, Brig. Muhammad Waqar, said his son attends the school and he watched with dread as victim after victim was brought in "I was waiting for him to turn up dead in an ambulance," he said.
"I wanted to grab a gun and go to the school." The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, which Pakistani officials said appeared to be aimed at the children of senior military personnel. School Massacre Victim Describes Horrific Taliban Commander Directed Peshawar School Massacre in Real Time Uniformed militants struck shortly before 11 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) when about 1,000 students — in grades one through 10 — and teachers were believed to be inside. "We were standing outside the school and firing suddenly started and there was chaos everywhere and the screams of children and teachers," said Jamshed Khan, a school bus driver.
"The gunmen entered class by class and shot some kids one by one," one student who was in the Army Public School in Peshawar at the time told local media. As the siege continued and Pakistani security forces battled to stop the assault, five "heavy" explosions were heard from the school at around 5 a.m. ET. Bombs planted by the attackers slowed rescue efforts, a military official said, and the massacre was not declared over until after 9 a.m. ET.
When the shooting started, Jamal said nobody knew what was going on in the first few seconds. "Then I saw children falling down who were crying and screaming. I also fell down. I learned later that I have got a bullet," he said, speaking from his hospital bed. He had been shot in the leg. Hours after all the children had been removed from the school, soldiers angrily roamed the campus. "It's interesting that they came through this graveyard," said one officer, pointing to a cemetery adjacent to the school. "It's sad.
\By targeting students and teachers in this heinous attack, terrorists have once again shown their depravity," he said in a statement.Taliban Commander Directed Peshawar School Massacre in Real Time
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