An un-Islamic act: Al Qaeda slams Peshawar school massacre

Al Qaeda says it is shocked at the killing of over 130 children

ISLAMABAD:

The al Qaeda subcontinent on Saturday denounced as un-Islamic the Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar that left nearly 150 people dead, majority of them children.

“We are shocked at the killing of over 130 children. We publicly disown any such act,” the group’s spokesman Usama Mehmood said.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan led by Maulvi Fazalullah had quickly claimed the responsibility of the Tuesday’s massacre at Army Public School which sparked widespread condemnation in Pakistan and around the world.

“We, the al Qaeda Mujahideen, have always condemned explosions in public places and targeting the children and women.  We reject the concept of targeting innocent people as there are clear instructions from the senior religious scholars [within al Qaeda framework] against any such action,” Mehmood said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2014.