PESHAWAR: Four children killed in Peshawar school bus attack

Express Tribune: Four schoolchildren and a van driver were killed in an ambush by militants in the Mattani area of Peshawar on Tuesday.

The school van was carrying the children back home to Kala Khel when it came under attack in Ghaziabad. The attack killed four on the spot and 17 others sustained injuries.

Police immediately cordoned off the area and the injured were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.

All the school children belong to Kala Khel village, an area where locals have formed a peace militia against militants.

Speaking to the media, police official Sahibzada Sajjad said the attack was an act of revenge against the residents of Kala Khel as they were committed to rooting out militancy from the area.

“Yes, I am sure, Kala Khel people are being targeted due to the Lashkar they have formed against militants”, Sajjad added.

Shoeb, a 10th grade student, said the students were on their way back home when they came under attack.

“We were hardly 15 miles away from our home when we heard a blast and then they started firing upon our vehicle. I received bullet injuries but I don’t know remember anything after that”, Shoeb added.

The vehicle belonged to the private Khyber School, a police official told AFP.

The school told AFP it had taken some precautions but that it had never been openly threatened by militants who have a presence in the area.

“We received no threatening letter,” said deputy head Salman Ahmed.

“We ourselves adopted measures for the safety of the children. We stopped singing classes and the school band playing music during the morning assembly because we know militants are active in the area,” he said.

This is not the first time Kala Khel residents have come under attack.

Earlier, a Kala Khel bound passenger vehicle was blown up at a bus stand in Mattani, killing 8 persons including women and children. The attack was followed by an IED explosion 15 days later, which claimed four lives.