Pakistani forces gather outside Bacha Khan university
Pakistani forces gather outside Bacha Khan universityREUTERS/Fayaz Aziz

The Pakistani wing of the Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack on a Pakistani university on Wednesday morning that left 21 people dead and 50 injured.  

The attack occurred in the Bacha Khan University campus in Charsadda, which is located approximately is about 50km (30 miles) from the city of Peshawar. The school has an approximate enrollment of some 3,000 students.

The attack, which started in the early morning is on Wednesday is still ongoing as of the writing of this report. Gunmen used the fog as cover to gain entrance into the university grounds and have taken refuge in the upper levels of one of the campus buildings. Security forces have set up a perimeter around the building in which the terrorist gunmen have taken refuge, and are continuing to shoot at the terrorists in the hope of eliminating the threat.

Earlier in the day a suicide bomber blew himself up and killed ten people while injuring twenty in the nearby city of Peshawar. The attack which occurred next to a police motorbike killed 5 police officers, a journalist and a number of children.

Pakistani forces have been combating the Pakistani Taliban in the region for some time.

Another attack outside a government office in the city of Mardan killed 26 people and left another 45 injured. The Mardan attack occurred at the end of December.