Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The nation is mourning the Army Public School massacre today. On this day in 2014, a heart-wrenching incident took place in Peshawar in which above 140 innocent lives were brutally taken by terrorists in the Army Public School (APS).
The attack shook the whole world, and the government of Pakistan announced a three-day mourning following the attack. At the time of the incident, APS held more than 1,000 staff members and students; many of them were children of military personnel.
8th anniversary
The terrorists began their attack in the morning when they accessed the large compound by scaling a wall. According to media reports, they bombed their own vehicle to create a distraction for the school guards. Entering the main assembly hall, where a large group of students was taking a lesson in first aid, the terrorists proceeded to shoot indiscriminately. Today is the eighth anniversary of the incident.
The attackers armed with automatic weapons then went to the classrooms, where they concentrated their fire on teachers. Later, commandos from the Special Services Group of the Pakistani army arrived at some point and succeeded in cornering the attackers, all of whom were wearing suicide vests. The attackers died in the confrontation while the attack was estimated to have lasted about eight hours.
