Pakistan mourns the dead after 141 killed in unprecedented Taliban attack on Peshawar school
The Taliban killed 141 people in an attack on a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, today.
Most of those killed were children, nine teachers were among the dead.
ITV News Senior Correspondent Emma Murphy reports on the attack:
The day had started like any other for the 500 students at Pakistan's Army Public School in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
In an instant, the peace was shattered when gunfire broke out as the Taliban launched their attack.
One student said that after breaking down the door the militants immediately opened fire, a continuous volley they maintained for ten minutes, after which "half or our classmates were wounded and the others were dead on the spot."
The assault began at around 10am local time (0500 GMT) as a group of nine militants, suicide vests tightly strapped to their bodies, burst into the building, according to witnesses. They were reportedly wearing Pakistani army uniforms.
Pakistani armed forces eventually stormed the building to stop the slaughter.
As the gunfight between the Taliban and Pakistani forces intensified, at least three of the militants blew themselves up, resulting in several charred bodies of bombers and victims.
Although the attack happened in a volatile area near the Afghan border this attack in broad daylight was unprecedented, ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery reports on the simmering violence in the area which led to today's massacre.
Leaders, both political and otherwise from around the word have condemned the attack.
Malala Yousafzai, who was herself shot by the Taliban when she was just 14, said she stands by those who were killed or injured in today's school attack in Peshawar.
US Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the "brazen" murder, saying, the terror act "angers and shakes" the world and that the perpetrators must be bought to justice.
The Taliban said that it targeted the military-run school in Peshawar this morning because the army "targets our families".
"We selected the army's school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females," said Taliban spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani, according to Reuters. "We want them to feel the pain."