Pakistan’s interior minister said Tuesday that militants who attacked the Wana Military College in South Waziristan, killing at least three people, had been in communication with handlers based in Afghanistan.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the attackers attempted to take hostages inside the military college but failed in their attempt.
The Pakistani military on Monday blamed the assault on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying India-backed terrorists attacked the Wana Cadet College, adding that security forces killed two attackers and trapped three others inside the compound.
Pakistani security officials said the militants were receiving instructions from Afghanistan and had taken shelter in a building located some distance from the students’ residential quarters.
According to security sources, about 650 students were inside the college at the time of the attack.
The army called the attack a “blatant act of barbarism orchestrated by Khwarij from Afghanistan is in contrast to assertions made by the Afghan Taliban Regime claiming non-presence of these terrorist groups on their soil.”
Pakistan uses the term “khwarij” to refer to militant groups opposed to the state.
