...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
that left 141 dead in the country's bloodiest ever terror attack, saying killing innocent children was against Islam.
Survivors said hard boyz bumped off children as young as 12 during the eight-hour onslaught in Peshawar, which the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) said was Dire Revenge for the ongoing North
Wazoo operation."The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has always condemned the killing of children and innocent people at every juncture," the Afghan Taliban, which often target civilians, said in a statement released late Tuesday.
"The intentional killing of innocent people, women and kiddies goes against the principles of Islam and every Islamic government and movement must adhere to this fundamental essence."
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the official name of the Taliban) expresses its condolences over the incident and mourns with the families of killed children."
The Afghan Taliban are a jihadist group loosely affiliated to the Pakistain Taliban, with both pledging allegiance to Mullah Omar
... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title
Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality...
.
The Afghan Taliban often distance themselves from attacks that kill many civilians, but they also deliberately target non-combatants.
Last week they grabbed credit for a suicide kaboom at a theatre show in the French cultural centre in Kabul that killed one person and injured 15.
The United Nations
...where theory meets practice and practice loses...
says the majority of civilian casualties in Afghanistan are caused by the Taliban and other gangs.