By Xinhua
Islamabad : A group of militants who took shelter in a school to evade chasing security forces and held schoolchildren and teachers hostages in northwest Pakistan have released their captives after local administration offered them safe passage, a local official said.
The acting District Coordination Officer (DCO) of Bannu district in North-West Frontier Province said that a member of the provincial assembly brokered the deal between militants and local administration.
Interior ministry spokesman Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema said the militants had earlier kidnapped an official of the health department and his driver.
After security personnel chased them, the militants took shelter inside the school in the town and held the students and teachers hostage, Cheema said, adding that the police later rescued the officer and his driver.
The militants abducted the students at the school in Domail area of the district and threatened to blow up the school building if their demand for safe passage was not accepted, media reported.