PESHAWAR, Pakistan — At least 30 students and teachers were taken hostage Monday when gunmen burst into a Pakistan high school, police said.Security forces surrounded the village school near the town of Bannu and police were negotiating with the gunmen, believed to number five or six, said district police chief Dar Ali Khattak.
As many as 250 children were held hostage, a Pakistani official told Reuters.
The standoff began after the gunmen abducted a health official in a neighboring district and were chased by police, said Liaqat Khan, another local police official.
The gunmen eventually freed the official but took refuge inside the school, and are now demanding safe passage in return for freeing the students and teachers, he said