Five Pakistani men held in Afghanistan over Peshawar school massacre - officials

Pakistani soldiers stand guard as parents arrive with their children at the Army Public School in Peshawar on Jan 12, 2015. Five Pakistani men have been arrested in Afghanistan in connection with the Taleban massacre of 134 school children at th
Pakistani soldiers stand guard as parents arrive with their children at the Army Public School in Peshawar on Jan 12, 2015. Five Pakistani men have been arrested in Afghanistan in connection with the Taleban massacre of 134 school children at the Army Public School last month, officials from both countries said on Sunday, Jan 18, 2015. -- PHOTO: AFP

KABUL (Reuters) - Five Pakistani men have been arrested in Afghanistan in connection with the Taleban massacre of 134 school children in the Pakistani city of Peshawar last month, officials from both countries said on Sunday.

The five were detained last week after Pakistan sent a list of suspects to security services in the neighbouring nation, said the officials who asked not to be named.

Taleban gunmen opened fire in the military-run school on Dec. 16, killing nine staff and the students, many of them the children of army personnel, in the country's bloodiest massacre in years.

"We are investigating whether the five detained are the ones wanted by Pakistan," one of the Afghan officials told Reuters.

Pakistan's Taleban is a separate organisation from the Afghan Taleban, but both share the goals of toppling their respective governments and enforcing strict Islamist law across the region.

One of the Pakistani officials said another 20-25 people had been detained in Pakistan but some had already been released.

A second Pakistani official said that talks were underway with the government for the transfer of the five prisoners in Afghanistan to Pakistan.

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