Peshawar: Over 130 children have been brutually killed and dozens wounded in a suicide attack by the Tehreek-e-Taliban on an Army-run school in Pakistan's Peshawar on Tuesday, officials said.
Developments as the horror unfolded:
The attack has ended, police said, with all six attackers dead.
5:10pm: Clearance operation reaches final stage as security forces kill 6th Taliban suicide attacker.
4:55pm: Another terrorist killed, total 5 terrorist dead.
4.45pm: Four of the six suicide bombers killed, say reports, however several children are being held hostage.
4.43pm: "Our efforts will continue till we fight terrorism out of our country," says Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif. “We will continue our struggle to completely eradicate militancy. We will work together with Afghanistan to work towards ending militance,” he added.
Further, the PM says that there should be no differences between the public. “We should unite and tackle terrorism,” the prime minister says..
4.42pm: "Those who have done this are an enemy of Allah, humanity, you and me," says Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi. He added: "Let them kill me but release the kids who are still stuck there."
4:40pm: An army helicopter flies over the School that is under attack by Taliban gunmen in Peshawar.
4:34pm: Terrorists pushed & confined to last of 4 blocks of school; 4 terrorists killed so far, search on for others: ISPR
4:30pm: "This is a national tragedy. Those were my kids, my loss," says Nawaz Sharif
4:21pm: Tehreek-e-Islam Pakistan's leader Imran Khan tweetd, “Shocked at attack on school in Peshawar. Strongly condemn this inhuman act of utter barbarism.”
4:20pm: 10 loud explosions heard at the Army Public School. Operation to flush out militants is underway.
4:17pm: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has postponed his party's countrywide protests scheduled for December 18, after the attack on Army Public School in Peshawar.
4:15pm: Death toll increases to 126. Over 80 injured in the worst ever terrorist attacks on children at Army Public School in Peshawar.
4:12pm: Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) has postponed its countrywide protests planned for tomorrow after receiving instructions from party chief Dr Tahirul Qadri.
4:10pm: PM Narendra Modi tweeted: It is a senseless act of unspeakable brutality that has claimed lives of the most innocent of human beings-children in their school:
4:07pm: PM Narendra Modi tweeted: 'Strongly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack at a school in Peshawar'.
4:05pm: Hospitals are facing blood shortage as nuber of injured people are rising.
4:00pm: Children were used as human shields by terrorists during exchange of fire with Pakistani security forces.
3:58pm: One suicide bomber has blown himself up in the school premises. Many injured.
3:57pm: 2 loud blasts reported from the site, amid sounds of gunfire.
3:50pm: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reached Peshawar to oversee the operation underway against terrorists in the army-run school.
3:45pm: ISPR says three blocks of the school have been cleared by security forces
3:41pm: Security sources say that some of the terrorists have managed to escape from the site after cutting barbed wires around the school premises.
3:30pm: Home Minister Rajnath Singh says the attack exposed the “real face of terrorism”.
3: 20 pm: Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan in a statement to Reuters say they targeted the school because the army targets their families. "We want them to feel our pain," the Taliban said.
3:00pm: Pakistan army chief to reach Peshawar to take stock of the situation
2:40pm: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar telephones Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice president Shah Mehmood Qureshi and told him that for the time being,the dialogue process is being postponed".
2:11 pm: Pakistan Prime Minister nawaz Sharif leaves for Peshawar in Pakistan, to take stock of the operations being carried out against the Taliban. "These are my children and it is my loss," the premier said.
2:05pm: Army trying to bring situation under control: Khyber Pakhtun Information Minister Shah Farman, the Khyber Pakhtun Minister of Information says there are approximately 80-100 unconfirmed dead.
1:55pm: 26 people have been killed, including two terrorists, security sources say. Hospital sources say the dead include 20 children.
1:50pm: Emir of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Sirajul Haq condemns the incident and says the whole country stands with the families of the deceased.
1:30pm: Doctors said most injured have been shot in head. The hospital has reported a shortage of blood and has sought blood donations urgently.
1:15pm: At the school, heavy gunfire and at least two blasts were reportedly heard from inside the school. Helicopters swooped overhead and a fleet of ambulances ferried wounded children to hospital. A security official was shot dead
1:00pm: The six armed attackers in military uniform entered the school from a graveyard and through the rear gate. They torched a vehicle, entered the school premises and started firing.
