77 militants killed after school massacre in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD , Dec. 20 (NsNewsWire) — Pakistan hanged two convicted militants on Friday — the country’s first executions in years — after the government reinstated the death penalty in response to a horrific Taliban school massacre this week that killed 148, most of them children.

Pakistan also stepped up an offensive against the militants in the country’s northwest, along the border with Afghanistan, with warplanes and ground forces pounding their hideouts. A total of 77 militants were killed in the operation, which started late Thursday and went on throughout the day Friday, reports AP.

The school massacre earlier this week stunned the country and brought cries for retribution. In the wake of the mass killing, the military has struck targets in the Khyber tribal region and approved the death penalty for six convicted terrorists.

The home minister for Punjab province where the two convicted men were hung confirmed their deaths.

“We have started these executions by hanging two terrorists,” Shuja Khanzada told The Associated Press. He identified the two men as Mohammed Aqeel and Arshad Mahmood and said they were executed at a prison in the central Punjabi city of Faisalabad.

“Today’s executions of terrorists will boost the morale of the nation, and we are planning to hang more terrorists next week,” he said.