PESHAWAR: At least 21 people were killed as gunmen armed with grenades and Kalashnikovs attacked a university in Charsadda on Wednesday, as security forces moved in under thick fog to halt the bloodshed. The militants, using the cover of thick, wintry fog, scaled the walls of Bacha Khan University before entering buildings and opening fire on students and teachers in classrooms and hostels, police said. The gunmen attacked as the university prepared to host a poetry recital competition to commemorate the death anniversary of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a popular ethnic Pashtun independence activist after whom the university is named. The attack comes a little over a year after Taliban gunmen stormed Army Public School in December 2014 and slaughtered more than 150 people, most of them children, in an hours-long siege. The mastermind of the APS Peshawar attack, Umar Mansoor, of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Geedar group claimed the attack through a post on his Facebook page, adding that four attackers were sent to the university. However, a spokesperson from the TTP, Mohammad Khorasani, issued a conflicting statement shortly after Mansoor’s claim, in which Khorasani condemned the attack, terming it “against Shariah”. Khorasani also warned that those “using the naming of TTP will be brought to justice”. As the military announced the end of the clearance operation, mass casualties were feared in the attack reminiscent of the deadly December 2014 terrorist attack on the Army Public School. Sources added that the four attackers were wearing suicide vests but were killed by security forces’ before they could detonate their explosives. Police has confirmed 21 people were killed in the attack. Military spokesperson Lt Gen Asim Bajwa stated the university premises have been cleared and four attackers have been killed. Security personnel, including Special Services Group (SSG) personnel, were tasked with clearing the university premises and securing the civilians inside. The terrorists offered stiff resistance to the security forces as they engaged in an operation to clear the university over several hours. Intelligence sources said eight to 10 terrorists were inside the university, adding that they were between 18 and 25 years old and were wearing civilian clothes and had their faces covered. Snipers had taken position around the premises, with monitoring being provided by aerial assets. Security forces also cordoned off a one-storey house, situated around a kilometre from the university’s boundary wall, where three terrorists were believed to be holed up. It was later declared clear by military personnel. The families of students lined up outside the school. Most of the boys belonged to Dir, Hangu and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Journalists and all other non-essential personnel were asked to stay back in order to not interfere with the ongoing security operation. Up to 20 ambulances entered the university to rescue the injured. Provincial Minister Shah Farman told journalists 54 security guards were stationed at the university. He said around 200 people were present in the examination hall, all of whom were rescued and “timely action by police and army has prevented large scale damage”. “The death toll in the terrorist attack has risen to 21,” regional police chief Saeed Wazir told AFP without specifying if the toll included the four militants the army stated it had killed. Most of the student victims were shot dead at a hostel for boys on the campus.