Taliban attacks university in Pakistan, around 60 killed

A group of heavily-armed Taliban militants stormed a prestigious university and opened indiscriminate fire on students and teachers in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. The gunmen entered Bacha Khan University in Charsadda district of the province, which is around 50 kms southwest of Peshawar, and indiscriminately fired on students and teachers in classrooms and hostels on January 20. Around 60 people are estimated to have been killed with 25 confirmed dead.

The attack on educational institutions in Pakistan has become a growing trend. In 2014, a school in Peshawar was attacked by the Taliban which resulted in the death of more than 100 children. Pakistan had vowed to step up security for educational institutions in the region in the wake of the Peshawar attacks, but the latest attacks on Bacha Khan university have once again raised questions about Pakistan’s commitment to handle and combat terror.

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack and its commander, Omar Mansoor, said that the attack was carried out by four attackers. Pakistan Army troops also rushed to the university from Peshawar and started operation, killing 2 snipers during the operation. All four terrorists are now said to be dead. Army spokesman Lt Gen Asim Salim Bajwa tweeted that four terrorists were killed during operation launched by security forces to clear the University.

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