After last night's sad news of the Sydney Siege which killed three people, today's news exceed them in horror and shock value. Pakistan has been haunted by the most destructive terrorist attack in recent years at a school shooting this morning, killing more than 120, over 80 of them being children, by armed terrorists.

According to security forces in Peshawar, the Taliban fighters stormed the school and started shooting with machine guns. Exams were in process so many assembly rooms were filled with children. One student that escaped recalls that the fighters entered the hall and started shooting at random children, killing many instantly. Numerous explosion were heard around the school. According to authorities, five terrorists were killed. However, many children are still being held hostage. So far, 84, most of them between the age of 12 and 16, lost their lives.

The group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the act of terror due to the school being affiliated with the Pakistani Army which is the target of the Taliban's terror. TTP-spokesperson Muhammad Khorasani confirmed to German magazine Der Spiegel that Taliban fighters were responsible for the attack and willing to die for the cause, suggesting that some of the explosions may be subject to suicide bombers. According to Khorasani, the order is to shoot the older students, not the children.

December 16^th was possibly deliberately chosen as it marks the anniversary of the Pakistani Army surrendering in the Bangladesh War with India. Peshawar is one of the most terror-stricken cities in all of Pakistan.

Photo courtesy of AP