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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — The military-run school in northwestern Pakistan where Taliban gunmen massacred at least 148 people remains a scene of devastation this morning.
The death toll grew overnight as some of the critically wounded school staff succumbed and the body of the school principal was retrieved from the debris. She had locked herself in a bathroom, but couldn't escape militants, who threw a grenade through the vent.
Officials allowed media inside the Army Public School and College in Peshawar today. Blood was still pooled on the floor and stairs, while broken glass, torn notebooks, clothing and shoes lay scattered on the ground.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (nah-WAHZ' shah-REEF') is pledging to step up the military campaign against the militants, saying: "We must not forget these scenes."
The Taliban is trying to justify the attack and threatening more, claiming the Pakistani army has long been killing innocent children and families of their fighters.
The government has declared three-day mourning period, which started today as mass funerals for the victims get underway.
%@AP Links
029-c-13-(Rebecca Santana, AP correspondent)-"tried to escape"-AP correspondent Rebecca Santana reports that the auditorium where the attack took place shows signs of the chaos that took place there. (17 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *029 (12/17/14)££ 00:13 "tried to escape"
030-c-09-(Rebecca Santana, AP correspondent)-"the hospital recovering"-AP correspondent Rebecca Santana reports the mourning continues for the 141 people killed in the Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar. (17 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *030 (12/17/14)££ 00:09 "the hospital recovering"
031-c-15-(Rebecca Santana, AP correspondent)-"horrified people"-AP correspondent Rebecca Santana reports that the massacre was the deadliest slaughter of innocents in Pakistan. (17 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *031 (12/17/14)££ 00:15 "horrified people"
032-c-12-(Rebecca Santana, AP correspondent) -"to be seen"- AP correspondent Rebecca Santana was asked what the horrified population may demand in the future because of this massacre. (17 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *032 (12/17/14)££ 00:12 "to be seen"
130-a-14-(General Asim Saleem Bajwa (ah-SEEM' sah-LEEM'- BAHJ'-wah), spokesman, Pakistani military, in interview)-"from this floor"-Pakistani General Asim Saleem Bajwa describes how, after a day-long battle, the attackers were killed close to the school's auditorium where they'd launched their deadly attack. (17 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *130 (12/17/14)££ 00:14 "from this floor"
131-a-17-(General Asim Saleem Bajwa (ah-SEEM' sah-LEEM'- BAHJ'-wah), spokesman, Pakistani military, in interview)-"and the wall"-Pakistani General Asim Saleem Bajwa shows reporters the academic block where the Taliban attackers were killed. (17 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *131 (12/17/14)££ 00:17 "and the wall"
132-a-14-(General Asim Saleem Bajwa (ah-SEEM' sah-LEEM'- BAHJ'-wah), spokesman, Pakistani military, in interview)-"she died inside"-Pakistani General Asim Saleem Bajwa says that the school's principal was killed by a grenade attack during the assault by Taliban militants. (17 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *132 (12/17/14)££ 00:14 "she died inside"
133-r-20-(Sound of Pakistan schoolchildren, singing the national anthem after Taliban attack)--Sound of Pakistan schoolchildren singing the Pakistani national anthem, following the deadly attack on a school in the troubled city of Peshawar. (17 Dec 2014)
<<CUT *133 (12/17/14)££ 00:20
APPHOTO CAIMA103: This photo released in a statement by the Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 shows the Taliban fighters who stormed a military-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, killing more than 140 people, most of them children. In an email on Wednesday, the Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani claimed the attack was justified because the Pakistani army has allegedly long been killing innocent children and families of their fighters. (AP Photo/Pakistani Taliban handout) (17 Dec 2014)
<<APPHOTO CAIMA103 (12/17/14)££
APPHOTO CAIMA102: This photo released in a statement by the Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 shows the Taliban fighters who stormed a military-run school in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, killing more than 140 people, most of them children. In an email on Wednesday, the Pakistani Taliban spokesman Mohammad Khurasani claimed the attack was justified because the Pakistani army has allegedly long been killing innocent children and families of their fighters. (AP Photo/Pakistani Taliban handout) (17 Dec 2014)
<<APPHOTO CAIMA102 (12/17/14)££
APPHOTO BKB128: Chairs are upturned and blood stains the floor at the Army Public School auditorium the day after Taliban gunmen stormed the school in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Pakistan mourned as the nation prepares for mass funerals Wednesday for over 140 people, most of them children, killed in the Taliban massacre in a military-run school in the country's northwest in the deadliest and most horrific attacks in years, officials said. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (17 Dec 2014)
<<APPHOTO BKB128 (12/17/14)££
APPHOTO BKB229: EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT - Pakistani journalists film and photograph inside an auditorium of the Army Public School attacked the day before by Taliban gunmen, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Pakistan mourned as the nation prepares for mass funerals Wednesday for over 140 people, most of them children, killed in the Taliban massacre in a military-run school in the country's northwest in the deadliest and most horrific attacks in years, officials said. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (17 Dec 2014)
<<APPHOTO BKB229 (12/17/14)££
APPHOTO BKB127: Pakistani video journalists film inside the auditorium of an Army Public School a day after an attack by the Taliban, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. Pakistan mourned as the nation prepares for mass funerals Wednesday for over 140 people, most of them children, killed in the Taliban massacre in a military-run school in the country's northwest in the deadliest and most horrific attacks in years, officials said. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) (17 Dec 2014)
<<APPHOTO BKB127 (12/17/14)££
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