Terror Attack on a School in Pakistan; Threats Over 'The Interview'
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, thank you for joining us. In Pakistan, the death toll is rising and the sense of shock and loss deepening as the civilized world struggles to understand an act of terror especially aimed at killing children. Also tonight, from the makers of the Sony Pictures computer hack have showing threats, a 9/11 style blood bath coming soon to a theater near you. The question now, who's behind it and is it, in fact, North Korea? And if so, what's next? Plus, with the horse still fresh from Sydney, Australia, where profile the heroes who came forward who saved lives and tried their best to save the day. We begin tonight with the terror attack in Pakistan. The death toll rising tonight in attack so heinous, it is strong that condemnation of both the Taliban and Afghanistan in Pakistan arch rival India. In the next few hours, all across India schools will be observing two minutes of silence. Solidarity with Pakistan after the assault that is now taken at least 140 lives, most young lives. School kids ages 12 and up. It happened in Pa shower (ph). The Pakistani Taliban was behind it and this is how the horror unfolded.</s>COOPER (voice-over): First responders desperate to save young lives rushed children to the emergency room. The latest casualties in Pakistan's war with the Taliban. The siege on the army public school into Greek college begins around 10:00 a.m., Pakistan time. Taliban militants set off a car bomb near the school to distract security forces and then scaled the school walls. Roughly 1,000 students, many of them children of army personnel are now inside. The men entered the room one by one, this lab assistance says and started indiscriminately fired at staff members and students. Within 15 minutes, Pakistani security forces arrive on the scene, surround the school and take positions on rooftops. Inside, a massacre is under way. A total of seven militants execute students and staff while wearing suicide vests. According to Pakistani military, they have enough ammunition for a long siege. They yell, God is great as they roar through the hallways.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They entered the main auditorium where there was a huge gathering. I think the students were going to an exam and immediately started shooting indiscriminate. And that's where maximum damage was caused.</s>COOPER: Pakistani military move in, but the task of securing the sprawling campus takes hours. By 4:00 p.m., six hours into the attack, the gunmen are confined to four buildings. Word quickly spreads the crisis at the school as ambulance speed by, parents anxiously wait outside desperate for word on their children. By 7:00 p.m., nine hours into the siege, the Pakistani military announced all seven militants are dead. Nearby, many students and staff fight for their lives in a chaotic hospital emergency room. This man, who appears to be a father, lashes out against the Pakistani government. This boy, one of the lucky ones who made it out alive, weeps as he's comforted by adults. By day's end, the death toll climbs above 140, most of them no older than 16.</s>COOPER: This is one of the worst attacks ever in the country that's seen far too many of them. Pakistanis have suffered greatly from terrorism and from the Taliban. That said, Pakistani governments and the military this country helps pay for have rarely confronted the problem consistently. There have been attacks launched on the Taliban but also deals made with them over the years. Some perspective now on that and more from Tim Craig bureau chief from the "Washington Post." Tim, let's talk about this group of Taliban, the TTP. What do you know about them?</s>TIM CRAIG, BUREAU CHIEF, WASHINGTON POST: Well, they were formed in the aftermath of September 11th. It's confusing, I think, for a lot of Americans and westerners because you have the Afghan Taliban and then you have the Pakistani Taliban. The Pakistan Taliban really a creation of, you know, domestic Islamic militants that formed when the previous Pakistan government</s>COOPER: And that's why this school in particular was targeted because it's the kids of Pakistani military officers.</s>CRAIG: Yes, Pakistan Taliban have issued a statement saying that they targeted the children of the people who they claim are responsible for killing them in ongoing military operations that have been taking place this year in northwestern Pakistan.</s>COOPER: I mean, obviously, there has been a lot of violent attacks in Pakistan over the years and in some ways, Pakistanis have become used to some level of violence. This attack though, it seems different, yes?</s>CRAIG: Yes. I mean, I was out for a while today in the streets of Islamabad and people were glued to television sets. It was the blank stare you remember from the U.S. on 9/11 when people just sort of in disbelief. There had been attacks on some children in the past. Malala, as you know, not shot far from this town</s>COOPER: I mean, you describe this as sort of Pakistan's 9/11. Do you think the fact that they're targeting kids and that so many people in Pakistan are shocked by it, that this is a turning point in any way or will make a difference? Does the military -- is there more they could be doing to try to eliminate the Taliban?</s>CRAIG: I think, clearly today, it's viewed as a turning point. But if you spend any time in Pakistan, you know that you never quite can be sure how long this stuff can be sustained. Public opinion here sort of shifts. There's, you know, a dozen political parties all with different views on different things. And there have been, you know, pretty brutal attacks in the past. you know, earlier this year, across the airport was attacked that stunned everyone. How could this happen? And then sort of resolve. But then, you know, and as the weeks go on, people sort of move on. But I do feel this is different and I do feel that, you know, you're going to have a pretty big spurt of unity heading to do something. The problem is, what can they do? This is not, you know, Pakistan fighting a war against another country or fighting a war with India or another border. This is they're fighting a war in your own country. So the military is sort of confined in some ways about what they can do to eradicate this problem. And I don't think anyone expects this battle to be over soon.</s>COOPER: Tim Craig, I appreciate you joining us from Islamabad. Thanks very much.</s>CRAIG: Thank you.</s>COOPER: I want to continue to focus on this attack. I want to dig deeper now. I'm bring CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour who has been monitoring developments tonight from London. Christiane, I know you spoke to Pakistan's defense minister today. He told you that the government and the armed forces are on the same page as far as the war on terrorists are concerned. Earlier this year, though, Pakistan's prime minister tried to broker a peace deal with the Pakistani Taliban. So, are they on the same page?</s>CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look. They are all speaking from the same page today after this horrendous attack. The defense man has just said that this attack wouldn't deter them. And he did say, look. Yes, we wanted to have peace with them, but they all, you know, broke down and they didn't pursue that with us. And we kind of expected, since our offensive in June, that there would be backlash from the Taliban. But he said, it is absolutely awful what happened at this school and that he called the security at that military-run school slack to say the least.</s>COOPER: You mentioned the offense of the Pakistan's army launched against the Taliban back in June and attacks in the country had actually declined since then. Do you think this attack though spurs the Pakistan military to fight even harder against the Taliban? Because that's the criticism for a long time at them. That they're so focused on -- the force is focused on India that they're not focusing as much on the Taliban.</s>AMANPOUR: You're actually right. And I pressed the defense minister about that. I said who is your main enemy? Is it India or these who you admit that it is the extremists, these Jihadists, this Taliban? And he said there is no doubt about it. While we may have complicated relations with various countries on our borders, the biggest threat to see, the biggest threat to Pakistan are these Jihadists, is the Taliban. But as many people have said, if this kind of massive attack on the military's own children doesn't spur a full-scale forward march and change of tune, really, then practically nothing will, Anderson.</s>COOPER: And I mean, they have targeted children in the past. Malala Yousafzai, who I think you have spoke to just couple of days ago, if not last week. She obviously survived assassination back in 2012. She came out, obviously, condemning this attack today. It will be interesting to see if in Pakistan, this isn't actually a turning point.</s>AMANPOUR: That is going to be very interesting to watch because there has been a degree of brainwashing by the Taliban. And yet, they don't yet actually have majority support. Politically, it said that the Taliban are defeated. Certainly in Afghanistan and to an extent, in Pakistan, but militarily, they remain a threat. And they have increased their threat quotient in the last many months particularly as the U.S. starts to pull back. Whether this has an effect on the hearts and minds in Pakistan and concentrates the minds of people who might have thought that, you know, the Taliban were, I don't know, standing up for Pakistan. You know, sucking one to the United States if you like. Whether people can get over that and really understand that they are an existential threat to Pakistanis remains to be seen. And such a heartbreaking comment from the defense minister. He said the smaller the coffin, the heavier it is to bear for us. And he really means that because this is an unprecedented attack.</s>COOPER: And I mean, why target children? Particularly if you're trying to change perception or win over followers in the country? I mean, I guess it's only because they're the children of military officers.</s>AMANPOUR: Well, this particular attack, the Taliban spokespeople told CNN earlier in the siege earlier this morning our time that this was revenge for the very Pakistani government and military offensive that is being taking placed since mid-June. And they said this is revenge for that. However, I think they probably have not reckoned with or don't care about the backlash and the sheer revulsion that it has caused but clearly they realize, clearly that this was no good in terms of winning hearts and minds.</s>COOPER: Interesting. It's still shocking. Christiane Amanpour. Thanks, Christiane. We will have a lot more ahead on this the attacks, also the attack in Sydney. Quick reminder. Make sure you set your DVRs so you can watch 360 whenever you like. Just ahead, we are going to zero in on the killers of the Sydney hostage drama including one who helped police get the best possible picture of the situation. Also, we will take you where police are trained for the standoffs like the one in Sydney where the ammunition is live.