Taliban attack: Pakistan army retaliates, kills 57 militants

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan army retaliated to the the deadly Taliban attack at Peshawar school by killing 57 militants in massive airstrikes in the Khyber tribal region where the suicide bombers were reportedly trained.
The army launched 20 airstrikes on Wednesday on several Taliban hideouts in Tirah valley area of Khyber tribal region which is adjacent to Peshawar and killed 57 militants, an army spokesman said.
The strikes were launched after reports that militants involved in the Peshawar army school attack in which 148 people, including 132 school children were killed, were trained in the Bara area of Khyber.
The military said that the ongoing operation Khyber-1 in the district is being reviewed.
Pakistan had on Wednesday pledged to announce a "national plan" to tackle terrorism within a week with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif saying "this entire region" should be cleaned of terrorism.
Taliban spokesman claimed that its 6 suicide bombers attacked the army school, saying it was a revenge for the military's operation against militants in the North Waziristan tribal area close to Peshawar.
The security forces have killed hundreds of militants in the region but they are still far from defeated.
The militants hide in the mountainous porous border and frequently cross towards Afghanistan to avoid attacks.
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Blood and body parts
Pakistanis may be used to almost daily attacks on security forces but an outright assault on children stunned the country, prompting commentators to call for tough military action.
In all, 148 people were killed in the attack on the military-run Army Public School, according to the army.

(Militants, who the Pakistan Taliban say attacked the Army Public School in Pehawar on Tuesday, pose in this undated handout picture.)
The school's sprawling grounds were all but deserted on Wednesday, with a few snipers manning the roofs of its pink brick-and-stone buildings. Army vehicles and soldiers wearing face masks and carrying rifles were deployed by the entrance.
A tour of the school revealed a place shattered by hours of fighting, its floor slick with blood and walls pockmarked with bullet holes. Classrooms were filled with abandoned school bags, mobile phones and broken chairs.
One wall was smashed where a suicide bomber blew himself up, blood splattered across it. His body parts were piled nearby on a white cloth. The air was thick with the smell of explosives and flesh.
A day after the attack, Peshawar was subdued as people digested the tragedy. More details of the well-organised attack emerged as witnesses came forward with accounts.
"The attackers came around 10:30am on a pick-up van," said Issam Uddin, a 25-year-old school bus driver.
"They drove it around the back of the school and set it on fire to block the way. Then they went to Gate 1 and killed a soldier, a gatekeeper and a gardener. Firing began and the first suicide attack took place."
Sharif has announced three days of mourning, but people's anxiety focused on what the authorities can do to protect them.
Sharif came to power last year promising to negotiate peace with the Taliban, but those efforts failed, weakening his position and prompting the army to launch an air-and-ground operation against insurgents along the Afghan border.
Despite the well-publicised crackdown, the military has been accused of being too lenient towards militants who critics say are used to carry out the army's bidding in places such as the disputed Kashmir region and Afghanistan.
The military denies the accusations.
"People will have to stop equivocating and come together in the face of national tragedy," said Sherry Rehman, a former ambassador to the United States and an opposition politician.
In a show of unity with a government he once tried to oust, opposition politician Imran Khan said he was calling off his months-long protest movement against Sharif - a welcome relief for a prime minister already beset by growing domestic problems.
Read this story in Hindi: तालिबानसेबदलाःखैबर में 57 आतंकवादीमारे गए