The Taliban Terrorists Who Killed Children in Peshawar

NEW DELHI: “It's a revenge attack for the army offensive in North Waziristan,” the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) declared after a brutal attack on an army-run school in Peshawar left 141, dead, 134 of whom were children. “We selected the army's school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females… We want them to feel the pain,” TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khorasani said. With the chilling statement, the TTP released pictures of the gunmen who carried out the attack.

In the above photo, the men who allegedly carried out the attack are pictured with a local Taliban leader.

In the second photo, the same men are seen seated in front of a flag that reads, 'There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Messenger.’

The second group image shows the gunmen dressed in regular clothing, whereas the first has them in an army uniform -- which is also what was worn to avoid raising suspicion when the men carried out the attack at the school.

“We are still able to carry out major attacks. This was just the trailer,” the TTP spokesperson said, referring to the attack and additionally issuing a warning to civilians to distance themselves from army institutions.

The TTP accused the students at the school of “following the path of their fathers and brothers to take part in the fight against the tribesmen” nationwide.

The militants also released individual images.

Meanwhile, Pakistan commenced three days of mourning, and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted a moratorium on the death penalty.

Pakistan’s army and intelligence chiefs also traveled to Afghanistan to seek assistance in locating the leaders behind the attack. Afghanistan and Pakistan have shared an uneasy relationship over the issue of militancy, with the former often accusing the latter of doing little to check cross-border movement and providing a safe haven for militants on Pakistani soil. Pakistan has always denied the charges. The relationship had reached a low under former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, but current President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani counterpart Sharif seem to be set to find common ground and improve bilateral ties.

A statement from the presidential palace said the two countries had agreed on increased mutual cooperation in fighting extremism whilst in Peshawar, Sharif declared that the policy of differentiating between the “bad” Taliban and the “good” Taliban (phrases used to refer to Pakistan’s distinction between Taliban that are waging a war against the country and Taliban that are concentrating their efforts on Afghanistan and India, respectively).