How Pakistan school massacre unfolded

16 December 2014

An attack by the Taliban on a school in Peshawar is being seen as one of the worst-ever in Pakistan. Militants stormed the building and scores of children and staff were killed. Here is how events unfolded.

12:00 Tuesday local time (07:00 GMT): A spokesman for the Taliban tells the BBC that militants have attacked the army-run school in response to military operations in North Waziristan and the Khyber area.

The BBC's Wietske Burma in Islamabad tweets, external:

Local channels quote police saying between four to six gunmen wearing security uniform have entered the school. Gunfire is heard from inside the building.

Footage from the scene shows injured children and young people being taken away.

Screengrab of TV footage showing injured boy after Peshawar school attack

Security forces close the road and cordon off the area.

Screengrab from Pakistan TV footage of soldiers responded in Peshawar school attack

13:00-14:00 (08:00-09:00 GMT): The Pakistani army says a gun battle is still under way at the school. The bulk of the 500 students and staff inside the building have been evacuated, officials say.

Schoolchildren are photographed being ushered away from the area.

Schoolchildren cross a road as they move away from a military run school that is under attack by Taliban gunmen in Peshawar, 16 December 2014.

A soldier escorts schoolchildren away from the Army Public School in Peshawar, 16 December 2014

Regional government officials update the media on early estimates of the number of people killed.

14:00-15:00 (09:00-10:00): The death roll rises quickly. Local officials go on to say 126 people have been killed, most of them children.

Dozens more are injured and taken to Peshawar's Lady Reading Hospital.

Pakistani volunteers carry a student injured in the shootout at a school under attack by Taliban gunmen, at a local hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. 16 December 2014

Meanwhile, students are reportedly still being held hostage inside the school.

Military officials say a rescue operation is taking place.

Scene outside army-run school under attack from Taliban in Peshawar

15:30 (10:30 GMT): Several explosions are heard from inside the school, as well as continuing gunfire.

Reports later emerge of a suicide bomb going off inside the school.

Frantic parents continue to search for news of their children.

Relatives of a student, who was injured during an attack by Taliban gunmen on the Army Public School, comfort each other outside Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, 16 December 2014

16:00 (11:00 GMT): More children are being rescued from the siege, officials say.

17:15 (12:15 GMT): An army spokesman says six suspected militants are dead, and bombs planted by the attackers are hampering the military operation.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has by now reached Peshawar and is being briefed on the operation.

A Pakistani soldier takes position following an attack at the army run school, in Peshawar Pakistan, 16 December 2014

20:00 (15:00 GMT): Pakistani officials say the attack is over, with all of the attackers killed, although security forces are still checking for bombs.

Soldiers continue to patrol the streets of Peshawar.

Pakistani soldiers patrol the streets of Peshawar

Meanwhile, the death toll continues to rise.

This boy's mother was reportedly a teacher at the school and was killed during the siege.

An injured student with relatives mourns the death of his mother who was a teacher at the school which was attacked by Taliban, in Peshawar, Pakistan, 16 December 2014

Pakistan's army spokesman Asim Bajwa says 132 children and nine staff members were killed in the attack.

The final number of people killed is yet to be confirmed.