Scores of Children Among Dead After Assault on Military School in Pakistan

This is a developing story. Check back for updates….

As many as 126 people are dead, including more than 84 identified as children, in Pakistan on Tuesday after Taliban soldiers stormed a military-run school located in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

At least five members of the Pakistan Taliban have been killed so far and reports indicate that hostages remain inside the walled-in campus of the school while members of the Pakistan Army and security forces continue to exchange gunfire with those who conducted the raid.

As the Associated Press reports, it is “not clear how many students and staff remained still inside the facility. A student who escaped and a police official on the scene earlier said that at one point, about 200 students were being held hostage. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to media.”

According to the Agence France-Presse:

The Guardian‘s  correspondent Jon Boone filed this update which describes a statement from the Taliban claiming told its operatives “not to kill minor children”: