- Gunmen in Peshawar entered school and started shooting at random
- Army commandos quickly arrived at the scene and exchanged fire
- School was stormed by six gunmen in military fatigues, it was reported
- Pakistani TV showed soldiers surrounding area and pushing people back
- Taliban accepted responsibility for the attack, claiming it 'was just a trailer'
- The terrorist group said three suicide bombers were part of the attack
- David Cameron described the attack on the school as 'deeply shocking'
- The massacre is one of the worst ever in the deeply troubled regionBy TED THORNHILL FOR MAILONLINE and AAMIR IQBAL
At least 100 people have been killed, including 84 children, after Taliban gunmen stormed a military school in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, in one of the worst ever militant attacks to hit the troubled region.
The attack started with the gunmen entering the 500-pupil school - which has students in grades 1-10, thought to be ages 5 to 14 - in the early hours and shooting at random, going from classroom to classroom.
Army commandos quickly arrived at the scene and exchanged fire with the gunmen. Eye-witnesses described how students cowered under desks as dead bodies were strewn along corridors.
Some students are being held hostage and intense fighting continues more than three hours after the attack began, according to defence officials. It's thought that three gunmen are holed up inside, three having died.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the massacre a 'national tragedy' and is on his way to the area.
'We selected the army's school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females,' said Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani. 'We want them to feel the pain.'
The attack started with the gunmen entering the 500-pupil school - which has students in grades 1-10, thought to be ages 5 to 14 - in the early hours
A hospital security guard helps a student injured in a shootout at a military school in Peshawar
Pakistani security forces takes up positions on a road leading to the Army Public School
Ambulances drive away from the military run school, which was attacked by the Taliban in the early hours
School was stormed by six gunmen in military fatigues , it was reported
A Pakistani soldier takes up a position above a road near the school
Mudassar Abbas, a physics laboratory assistant at the school, said some students were celebrating at a party when the attack began.
'I saw six or seven people walking class-to-class and opening fire on children,' he said.
A student who survived the attack said soldiers came to rescue students during a lull in the firing.
'When we were coming out of the class we saw dead bodies of our friends lying in the corridors. They were bleeding. Some were shot three times, some four times,' the student said.
'The men entered the rooms one by one and started indiscriminate firing at the staff and students.'
Mushtaq Ghani, the spokesman for the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told journalist Aamir Iqbal: 'At least six militants wearing military uniforms entered the school from back wall of the school that is known as 'Army Public School'.
'There is a graveyard attached to back wall of the school that is run by Pakistani Military, most of the students studying in this school were children of military officers.
'Attacking innocent children is the most abominable crime and such an attack will not be accepted at all.
'This can be the reaction of ongoing military operations against terrorists in the North Waziristan area of Pakistan.'
Student Shuja khan claimed that 'the attack took place the time a senior military officer started his address during the function that was going on inside the school'.
He added: 'I am not sure but he was the Corp Commander Peshawar who when he started his speech terrorists opened fire on the students sitting in the function.'
Horror: A school boy who was injured in the Taliban attack receives medical treatment at a hospital in Peshawar
An armored personnel carrier moves toward the school
Pakistani army troops arrive to take on the Taliban attackers
Taliban gunmen stormed a military school in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar
A school boy who was injured in the Taliban attack receives medical treatment at a hospital in Peshawar
Taking no chances: Pakistani security forces form a perimeter around the school
A soldier escorts schoolchildren after they were rescued from the Army Public School
Mohammad Khorasani, the spokesman for Pakistani's Taliban Fazal Ullah group, accepted responsibility for the attack.
He said: 'It's a gift for those who thought they have crushed us in their so called military operation in North Waziristan.
'They [the Pakistani military] were always wrong about our capabilities, We are still able to carry out major attacks. Today was just the trailer.
'Six of our Mujahideen, including three suicide bombers took part in this attack and with the grace of almighty they all executed the plan very accurately.
'We selected the army's school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females. We want them to feel the pain.'
Prime Minister David Cameron today said the Taliban attack on the military school was 'deeply shocking'.
'It's horrifying that children are being killed simply for going to school,' he said.
Pakistani television showed soldiers surrounding the area and pushing people back.
One of the wounded students, Abdullah Jamal, said he was with a group of 8th, 9th and 10th graders who were getting first-aid instructions and training with a team of Pakistani army medics when the attack began.
Prime Minister David Cameron today said the Taliban attack on the military school was 'deeply shocking'
Details were sketchy in the unfolding situation and it was unclear what was going on inside the school and if any of the students were taken hostage
Mohammad Khorasani, the spokesman for Pakistani's Taliban Fazal Ullah group, accepted responsibility for the attack
A man talks on a phone, with his arm around a student, during the attack
Schoolchildren cross a road as they move away from the military run school
Pakistani rescue workers take out students from an ambulance injured in the shootout
When the shooting started, Mr Jamal, who was shot in the leg, 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.
'All the children had bullet wounds. All the children were bleeding,' he added.
The Pakistani Taliba have targeted security forces, checkpoints, military bases and airports, but attacks on civilian targets with no logistical significance are relatively rare.
In September, 2013, dozens of people, including many children, were killed in an attack on a church, also in Peshawar.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2875729/Up-20-dead-500-children-teachers-taken-hostage-Taliban-gunmen-storm-military-run-school-Pakistan.html#ixzz3M3US96xV
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
