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Pakistan Officials Says School Siege Is Over


A child receives treatment at a hospital following an attack by Taliban gunmen on a school in Peshawar on December 16.
A child receives treatment at a hospital following an attack by Taliban gunmen on a school in Peshawar on December 16.

Pakistani officials say the siege of a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar has ended after at least 130 people were killed -- most of them children -- and 120 wounded.

After more than eight hours, military officials said the operation at the school is over and that nine militants had been killed.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack that happened at a military high school when militants entered the school and began their slaughter.

Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani said his group launched the attack as retaliation for the Pakistani military operation in the northwestern tribal areas, an area known a haven for militant groups.

"We selected the army's school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females," Khorasani said.

Witnesses spoke of an indiscriminate slaughter as militants opened fire in classrooms.

Based on reporting Reuters and AP

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