Peshawar: A teenage survivor of yesterday&rsquo;s Taliban attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar described how he played dead after being shot in both legs by insurgents who were hunting down and killing students.
<a href="http://www.mid-day.com/articles/no-words-militants-massacre-innocents-at-pakistan-school/15847156" target="_blank">Pakistan school attack: How events unfolded in Peshawar</a>
<img title="Seven armed terrorists entered the army-run school on Warsak Road in Peshawar by scaling a wall from a nearby graveyard. The terrorists entered the school through the canteen" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2014/dec/School-Taliban-attack-1.jpg" alt="Seven armed terrorists entered the army-run school on Warsak Road in Peshawar by scaling a wall from a nearby graveyard. The terrorists entered the school through the canteen" /> Seven armed terrorists entered the army-run school on Warsak Road in Peshawar by scaling a wall from a nearby graveyard. The terrorists entered the school through the canteen
Militants rampaged through the army-run school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa&rsquo;s capital and killed at least 130 people, most of them children, in one of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan.
Speaking from his bed in the trauma ward of the city&rsquo;s Lady Reading Hospital, 16-year-old Salman said he and his classmates were in a career-guidance session in the school auditorium when four gunmen wearing paramilitary uniforms burst in.
<img title="As soon as the terrorists entered the school premises, they headed towards the corridor leading to the classrooms and opened fire, killing several students, teachers and attendants." src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2014/dec/School-Taliban-attack-2.jpg" alt="As soon as the terrorists entered the school premises, they headed towards the corridor leading to the classrooms and opened fire, killing several students, teachers and attendants." /> As soon as the terrorists entered the school premises, they headed towards the corridor leading to the classrooms and opened fire, killing several students, teachers and attendants.
&ldquo;Someone screamed at us to get down and hide below the desks,&rdquo; he said, adding that the gunmen shouted &ldquo;Allahu akbar&rdquo; (God is greatest) before opening fire. &ldquo;Then one of them shouted: &lsquo;There are so many children beneath the benches, go and get them&rsquo;,&rdquo; said Salman.
&ldquo;I saw a pair of big black boots coming towards me, this guy was probably hunting for students hiding beneath the benches.&rdquo;
<img title="Four gunmen barged into the school auditorium where students were attending a careers-guidance session. The students ducked under the benches for cover, but the militants dragged students out and shot them." src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2014/dec/school-Taliban-attack-3.jpg" alt="Four gunmen barged into the school auditorium where students were attending a careers-guidance session. The students ducked under the benches for cover, but the militants dragged students out and shot them. " /> Four gunmen barged into the school auditorium where students were attending a careers-guidance session. The students ducked under the benches for cover, but the militants dragged students out and shot them. Illustration/Amit Bandre 
Salman said he felt searing pain as he was shot in both his legs just below the knee. He decided to play dead, adding: &ldquo;I folded my tie and pushed it into my mouth so that I wouldn&rsquo;t scream.
The man with big boots kept looking for students and pumping bullets into their bodies. I lay as still as I could and closed my eyes, waiting to get shot again,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;I was shivering. I saw death so close and I will never forget the black boots approaching me. I felt as though it was death that was approaching me,&rdquo; Salman added further.
The Army Public School is attended by boys and girls from both military and civilian backgrounds.
As his father, a shopkeeper, comforted him in his blood-soaked bed, Salman recalled: &ldquo;The men left after some time and I stayed there for a few minutes. Then I tried to get up but fell to the ground because of my wounds. When I crawled to the next room, it was horrible. I saw the dead body of our office assistant on fire,&rdquo; he said.
&ldquo;She was sitting on the chair with blood dripping from her body as she burned,&rdquo; Salman added.
Salman, who said he also saw the body of a soldier who worked at the school, crawled behind a door to hide and then lost consciousness.
&ldquo;When I woke up I was lying on the hospital bed,&rdquo; he added.

As terrorists roamed about the auditorium looking for survivors, the 16-year-old student, shot in both legs, stuffed his school tie into his mouth to muffle his screams and played dead

Pakistan school attack: Student played dead to save his life

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Pakistan school attack: Student played dead to save his life

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