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Taliban
gunmen stormed a university in Pakistan Wednesday, executing several
students and staff members and setting off a heavy gun battle with police and army troops.
It's the second Taliban attack on a school there in a little over a year.
At least four Taliban attackers climbed over the back walls of Bacha
Khan University, shot at a security guard and headed for the
administration building and student dorms. They murdered at least 20
people before they were killed by police.
"There were four or five who entered from the right side of the
university and they started firing," university staff member Alamgir
Khan recalled.
"The external university security staff replied all at once, but they
looked very professional and they successfully reached the end of the
last building," he said.
"I heard when they were shouting 'God is great.' I was hiding under
the desk with my two colleagues and one staff member," student Kashif
Jan said.
Wednesday's massacre comes just 14 months after the Taliban attacked
another school in northwest Pakistan, killing more than 150 people.
The Taliban is claiming responsibility for this attack as well,
saying it's revenge for the thousands of jihadists that the Pakistani
military has killed in recent months.
Pakistan's northwest region is highly volatile. Since 2014, Pakistani
forces have carried out a major operation there against the Taliban and
other extremists. Last month, the government said it had killed 3,500
insurgents since launching the campaign.
Bacha Khan University is named after the founder of a liberal,
anti-Taliban party. The Pakistani Taliban have targeted the party in the
past for its anti-extremist policies.
Source: CBN News
CBN News