Pakistan school massacre probe: Afghan canteen staffers held

Peshawar: Some Afghan nationals working in the canteen of the army-run school where 150 people, mostly school children, were massacred, have been arrested by Pakistan security agencies for allegedly facilitating the Taliban militants in carrying out the bloodbath.

Read: 'Facilitator' of Peshawar school attack killed in Pakistan

The Afghan suspects provided the terrorists information about the Army Public School over phone as their mobile call data records established their links with the militants, according to a local media report.

The Peshawar school massacre probe has been extended to Afghanistan as Pakistani security forces arrested accomplices and facilitators of the Taliban attackers, Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had said yesterday.

Terrorists had been planning the December 16 attack for a long time, the report said.

Security agencies have also recovered Pakistani identity cards from their possession. Agencies have also obtained details of the facilitators of the terrorists inside the school.

Read: Four terrorists fled after Peshawar school attack

During initial interrogation, it has emerged from call data records that these Afghan nationals had links with the terrorists, the report said.

Further investigations into the school carnage are underway with full force, it said.

In the aftermath of the attack, Pakistan has decided to form a federal counter-terrorism force, directed financial bodies to check funding to militants and set up a panel for implementing the plan to deal with the scourge of militancy.

Meanwhile, a militant commander was killed during clashes with the security forces in Bannu district bordering North Waziristan Agency.