Charsadda, Pakistan: At least five people died in an armed assault on a university in Pakistan on Wednesday, where witnesses reported two large blasts and security forces said gunmen were still on the loose.
The attack on the Bacha Khan university in Charsadda, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the city of Peshawar, is the latest to hit the militant-infested region.
Police, soldiers and special forces launched a ground and air operation at the university in a bid to shut down the assault, as television images showed female students fleeing the campus.
"There are five dead bodies in front of me," said emergency official Bilal Faizi, speaking from the Bacha Khan university in Charsadda. All of them have bullet wounds," he told AFP.
Military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa said on Twitter that two attackers had been killed.
"Two more terrorists who were firing from inside the Block cordoned by Army troops, shot (and) killed. Op continues."
It was not immediately clear if the two were included in the toll of five given by emergency official Faizi.
Geology student Zahoor Ahmed said he had tried to leave his hostel after hearing shots fired.
"(We) were stopped by our chemistry lecturer who advised us to go inside. He was holding a pistol in his hand," he said.
