Gunmen attack university in northwest Pakistan, explosions heard
[PESHAWAR, Pakistan] A group of militants stormed a university in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, police said, with firing inside the campus still going on and two explosions heard.
Media reported that three gunmen entered the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and opened fire on students and teachers in classrooms and hostels.
There was no immediate report of casualties.
Pakistan has killed and arrested hundreds of suspected militants under a counter-terrorism plan enacted after a massacre of school children in December 2014 in its volatile northwest.
Deputy Inspector General Saeed Wazir told Reuters that the number of gunmen was unclear but police had moved into the university and a gunfight with the attackers was under way. "We launched an operation inside the university and are trying to rescue the students and staff of the institution," Mr Wazir said.
Shabir Khan, a lecturer in the English department, said he was about to leave the hostel for the department when firing began. "Most of the students and staff were in classes when the firing began," Mr Khan said. "I have no idea about what's going on but I heard one security official talking on the phone to someone and said many people had been killed and injured."
REUTERS
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