Peshawar attack: At least 9 killed as burqa-clad Pakistani Taliban storm Agriculture Directorate

Peshawar attack: A big contingent of police force was called in shortly after the firing began. (Source: Google Maps)

At least nine people were killed after burqa-clad Pakistani Taliban gunmen opened fire at Peshawar’s Agriculture Directorate on Friday. The terrorists were later shot dead by security forces. Hospital authorities said nine persons mostly students were killed in the attack. Thirty-two people were also injured in the attack.

After claiming responsibility for the attack, the Pakistani Taliban spokesperson Mohammad Khorasani announced that they had targeted a safe house of the military Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI). The gunmen reportedly arrived at the campus of the Agriculture Directorate in a rickshaw, disguised in burqas. They then shot and wounded a guard before entering the campus, said Khan to Reuters.

Salahuddin Mehsud, Inspector General of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, told PTI that timely action by police and the Army helped in curtailing the number of deaths.

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Back in December 2014, Pakistani Taliban gunmen killed 134 children at Peshawar’s Army Public School, one of the single deadliest attacks in the country’s history.

The Pakistani Taliban are fighting to topple the government and install a strict interpretation of Islamic law. They are loosely allied with the Afghan Taliban insurgents who ruled most of Afghanistan until they were overthrown by U.S.-backed military action in 2001.

(With inputs from Reuters)