Pakistan officials now state that the school massacre by Taliban gunmen is over. The deadliest slaughter of innocents in Pakistan in years left 141 people dead before troops stormed into the military-run school and were able to get things under control and end the siege.
Nearly all of the 141 people killed were students.
According to Yahoo News , people in the country were already scared of the unending terrorist attacks, and this one did nothing to help calm their fears. The Taliban attack even brought forth a message from Malala Yousafzai , the teenage Nobel Peace laureate.
“Innocent children in their school have no place in horror such as this. I condemn these atrocious and cowardly acts.” Yousafzai said. She continued on to say that millions will mourn “the lives of the children who died in the Taliban assault on a school in Peshawar.”
Funeral services for many of the 141 children and staff killed in Peshawar, Pakistan, began on Tuesday evening. The government officially declared three days of mourning for those killed in the Taliban attack. With 141 dead, another 121 students and three staff members were also wounded.
Quran: “If you kill one man unjustly, as if you killed the whole humanity.” #PeshawarAttack pic.twitter.com/1oNPX7uK8S
— Nazia Memon (@NaziaMemon01) December 16, 2014
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif got to Peshawar shortly after the assault began. He stated that the government would step up its actions and, along with U.S. drone strikes, will continue to target Taliban militants in the region.
“We will take account of each and every drop of our children’s blood.”
As the day went on, USA Today reported how the death toll continued to rise and eventually finished on 141. Pakistanis were left in complete and utter shock by what had happened and the mourning was hard to even begin as more deaths just kept coming. 24-year-old Qazi Murtaza of Peshawar lost a cousin and aunt in the Taliban’s brutal attack on the school.
“In every street of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, someone has lost a dear one today. My aunty lost her son — his funeral is tonight — and then I have to go to my uncle’s house. He lost his wife.”
Tuesday’s attacks in Pakistan were carried out by just seven Taliban soldiers, and they were all wearing bomb vests.
They cut through a wire fence and entered the school from the rear and began their attack on an auditorium where young children were taking an exam. The gunmen then went classroom to classroom and just opened fire, shooting students and teachers wherever they found them. In all, the siege lasted a total of eight hours.
Reaction online has been fueled by hatred, disgust, and pure confusion. Heartbreaking images are making their way onto the Internet, with some just sad while others are almost unbearable to look at.
Parents checking to see if their child is on the death list. This is so heartbreaking. #PeshawarAttack pic.twitter.com/307W2IHL8o
— ? (@sIaysha) December 16, 2014
World leaders have spoken out about the horrific Taliban attack in Pakistan, and are in shock by all that transpired on Tuesday. Banding together, they are already beginning to state that something like the Peshawar attack will not happen again.
[Image via AEP]