Heavy gunfire and blasts were heard from inside the Bacha Khan university as gunmen tried to storm their way into the building.

According to reports, 9 civilians were killed, along with four terrorists, but the number of civilian deaths is expected to increase. Earlier, an army spokesman said that 21 civilians had been killed.

The attack was carried out in Charsadda, about 50 km from the city of Peshawar, where in 2014 Talibans had murdered more than 130 students at a school.

Saeed Khan Wazir, a senior police officer, told media, “There was severe fog as visibility was almost none, but the university is being surrounded by police and army soldiers. Efforts are underway to overcome the terrorists and clear the situation.”

One Pakistan Taliban spokesman, Umar Mansoor, said the attack was in retaliation for military operations against the group, but another spokesman, Mohammad Khurrassani, from the Pakistan Taliban’s central organization, denying any involvement in the attack.

We “strongly condemn the attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda and disown the attack, saying this is not according to Shariah,” Khurrassani said.