Five suspects of school massacre held in Afghanistan

Published January 15, 2015
A soldier stands inside the Army Public School that was attacked by Taliban gunmen in Peshawar. — AFP/file
A soldier stands inside the Army Public School that was attacked by Taliban gunmen in Peshawar. — AFP/file

KABUL: Five men suspected of involvement in last month’s massacre at a school in Peshawar have been arrested in Afghanistan, a report on the BBC website said on Wednesday.

According to the report, Afghan officials denied reports that the suspects had been handed over to Pakistan, saying they would be questioned in Afghanistan first.

Read: Militant siege of Peshawar school ends, 141 killed

The arrests came after Pakistan provided information to the Afghan government.

An Afghan security official said the five had been arrested in an eastern province.

Also read| Umar Mansoor mastermind of Peshawar school attack: TTP

Afghan security officials believe they were indirectly involved in the school massacre on Dec 16. All the seven assailants were killed.

Also read: Militant commander who facilitated Peshawar school attack killed in Khyber

The gunmen had cut through a wire fence to gain entry to the Army Public School and then went from class to class, killing at least 150 people — 133 of them children — and injuring more than 120. The arrests confirm there has been a thaw in relations between the Afghan and Pakistani governments, according to the report by David Loyn in Kabul.

Published in Dawn January 15th , 2015

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