Alwaght- Pakistan security officials say they are probing and have already made major breakthroughs in identifying the terrorists who attacked the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda early Wednesday killing at least 22 people.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said that the terrorists' phone calls had been traced and analyzed, and that two cell phones had also been recovered from them.
"When army reached the premises, all four attackers were alive. They were in the hostel and were eventually eliminated on the roof and the stairs," informed the ISPR chief. They had a lot of ammo, including grenades, he added.
At least 21 people were killed and over 60 injured as unidentified gunmen stormed inside Bacha Khan University in Charsadda with eyewitnesses saying five blasts were heard. Pakistan Army personnel undertook the rescue operation.
Security officials say that the death toll could rise to as high as 40 as the army cleared out student hostels and classrooms. A spokesman for the rescue workers said the dead included students, guards, policemen and at least one professor.
Around 50 students have been rescued from the university premises. Meanwhile, Umar Mansoor, of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Geedar group has claimed the attack through a post on his Facebook page, adding that four attackers were sent to the university.
However, a spokesperson from the TTP, Mohammad Khorasani, issued a conflicting statement shortly after Mansoor's claim, in which Khorasani condemned the attack, terming it "against Shariah".
The attack renewed worries about the strength of an insurgency that many Pakistanis had hoped was finally waning after an extended military crackdown on Takfiri terrorists.