US condemns terrorist attack in Pakistan

The US today strongly condemned the terrorist attack on an agriculture training institute in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar in which at least 12 people, including six students, were killed.

Three burqa-clad heavily-armed Taliban militants, who arrived on an autorickshaw, yesterday attacked the students' hostel of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension on the University Road in the city, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

The institute was closed for the Eid-e-Milad holiday, but about 70 students were present in the hostel.

"We offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the attack," State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said.

"We stand with the people and Government of Pakistan, and we will continue to work with our partners in Pakistan and across the region to combat the threat of terrorism," she said in a statement.

According to Police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Salahuddin Mehsud, the attack claimed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan left six students, a security guard and five civilians dead, and 32 others injured.

He said the terrorists were killed by security forces after a gunfight which lasted for an hour.