PESHAWAR, Sept 13: Militants attacked a school bus on the Kohat road in the suburbs of the city on Tuesday. Four children and the driver of the bus were killed and 14 children, two woman teachers and two other people were injured.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack and said it wanted to punish families of the children for organising anti-Taliban militias.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Abdul Kalam Khan told Dawn the children from Kalakhel village of Khyber Agency were going home from the Khyber Model School at about 1.50pm when they were attacked.

“We had no information about any possibility of such an attack. However, there were reports about security threats and, therefore, police established checkpoints on the roads in the city,” the SP said.

DSP Sahibzada Sajjad said the van was attacked with rocket-launchers, hand-grenades and Kalashnikovs. In about 10 minutes, the assailants vanished from the area which is hardly 500 metres from the tribal region.

He said the militants might have been waiting on a nearby mountain for the bus. Police started an operation in the area but no arrest has been made so far.

The DSP said the children had been targeted because their elders had formed a peace committee.

The children who were killed are Farooq, Shah Zeb, Suleman and Naveed. The driver has been identified as Niaz Mir.

The injured were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital. A hospital spokesman said 21 people had been brought there. Two of them had already expired while one died in the hospital.

The injured students, Arshad of Class 6 and Khan Wali of Class 10, told Dawn that there was a loud bang followed by firing with automatic weapons from two sides of the road. They did not see the attackers. They said about 40 children, including girls, were in the bus.Some elders of the Kalakhel area said militants killed 10 people a few months ago by blowing up two pick-ups in Matni Bazaar after local people had formed an anti-Taliban Lashkar.

They criticised police for their failure to protect motorists even on the main Indus Road and said it would be difficult to send children to schools in this situation of grave insecurity.

A TTP spokesman for the Darra Adamkhel and Khyber Agency chapter of the banned organisation told journalists on phone that the Taliban wanted to kill teachers and grown-up children, not the minor ones. Such attacks, he said, would continue if people did not stop supporting the government. “When we can fight the army, attacking civilians is not a problem for us,” he added.

Opinion

Editorial

United stance
Updated 13 Nov, 2024

United stance

It would've been better if the OIC-Arab League summit had announced practical measures to punish Israel.
Unscheduled visit
13 Nov, 2024

Unscheduled visit

Unusual IMF visit shows the lender will closely watch implementation of programme goals to prevent it from derailing.
Bara’s businesswomen
13 Nov, 2024

Bara’s businesswomen

Bara’s brave women have proven that with the right support, societal barriers can be overcome.
System failure
Updated 12 Nov, 2024

System failure

Relevant institutions often treat right to internet connectivity with the same disdain as they do civil and political rights.
Narrowing the gap
12 Nov, 2024

Narrowing the gap

PERHAPS a pat on the back is in order for the ECP. Together with Nadra, it has made visible efforts to reduce...
Back on their feet
12 Nov, 2024

Back on their feet

A STIRRING comeback in the series has ended Pakistan’s 22-year wait for victory against world champions Australia....