Education campaigner and Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban in 2012, has condemned the "atrocious and cowardly" attack on a school in Pakistan.
The teenager joined a stream of Western politicians and campaigners in criticising the Pakistani Taliban, who claimed responsibility for opening fire on the Army Public School in the city of Peshawar. The attack has taken the lives of at least 126 people, the majority of whom are thought to be children.
In a statement, the 17-year-old said: "I am heartbroken by this senseless and cold-blooded act of terror in Peshawar that is unfolding before us.
"Innocent children in their school have no place in horror such as this.
"I condemn these atrocious and cowardly acts and stand united with the government and armed forces of Pakistan whose efforts so far to address this horrific event are commendable.
"I, along with millions of others around the world, mourn these children, my brothers and sisters - but we will never be defeated."
Prime Minister David Cameron described the scenes as "horrifying", while Labour leader Ed Miliband said it was "appalling" that schoolchildren should be targeted.
A Pakistani military source told US TV network NBC that at least 10 attackers wearing police uniforms and suicide vests stormed the army-run school this morning. The gunmen were reported to have fired at random inside the school before the building was surrounded by Pakistani troops, who exchanged fire with the militants.
The source said: "They burnt a teacher in front of the students in a classroom.
"They literally set the teacher on fire with gasoline and made the kids watch."
Most of the school's 500 children are understood to have been evacuated, but many were being held hostage in the building.
Mr Cameron said: "The news from Pakistan is deeply shocking. It's horrifying that children are being killed simply for going to school."
Mr Miliband added his voice to the outrage, saying: "Devastating news from Pakistan. Appalling that schoolchildren were targeted in this murderous attack. My thoughts are with those affected."
Gunfire and explosions were heard shortly after the militants entered the school at around 10am local time (5am UK time). A number of teachers and a member of the security forces were believed to be among those killed.
The school is sited on the edge of a military cantonment in the city of Peshawar, and some of the pupils are thought to be the children of members of the armed forces.
Taliban spokesman Mohammed Khurasani said six suicide bombers had carried out the attack in revenge for the killing of Taliban members by Pakistani forces.
"We targeted the school because the army targets our families. We want them to feel our pain," said a Taliban spokesman.
Hundreds of Taliban fighters are thought to have died in a recent military offensive in Waziristan and the Khyber region.
Nigel Inskter, a British former MI6 assistant chief, said the bloody attack could be the first of several "revenge" hits by Taliban fighters.
He said: "It is an attack of revenge, and there is possibly more where this came from."
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who described the attack as a "national tragedy", told reporters in Peshawar: "I feel that until and unless this country is cleansed from terrorism, this war and effort will not stop, no-one should be doubtful of this.
"Such attacks are expected in the wake of a war and the country should not lose its strength."
News images of the aftermath of the attack showed boys in blood-soaked school uniforms with green blazers being carried from the scene.
Police officer Javed Khan said army commandos quickly arrived at the school and exchanged fire with the gunmen.
Pakistani television showed soldiers surrounding the area and pushing people back.
One of the wounded students, Abdullah Jamal, was shot in the leg during a first-aid class.
"I saw children falling down who were crying and screaming," he said. "I also fell down. I learned later that I have got a bullet. All the children had bullet wounds. All the children were bleeding."
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he was "shocked and appalled by the unimaginable horror taking place in Pakistan" while Philip Barton, the British high commissioner to Pakistan, wrote: " Deeply saddened by the appalling Peshawar attack. My heartfelt thoughts are with the victims and their families."
Politician and former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan said: "Shocked at attack on school in Peshawar. Strongly condemn this inhuman act of utter barbarism."
Former prime minister Gordon Brown, who has campaigned for security in schools in his role as United Nations special envoy for global education, said: "The whole world will be shocked and heartbroken at the massacre in Peshawar that has destroyed so many innocent young lives.
"We must remain resolute in saying that no terrorist group can at any time ever justify denying children the right to an education and we will do everything in our power to support the Pakistan authorities and make sure their schools are safe and protected.
"It has never been acceptable for schools to be places of conflict and for children to be subject to violence simply because they want to learn. Education is opportunity and hope for building nations.
"Too often innocent girls and boys have become targets for terrorists who want to deny children the right to education and schools have become theatres of war.
"No one has the right to deny a boy or girl their education and we will stand alongside the parents and the children against the Taliban's refusal to recognise every child has the right to education."
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter: "Strongly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack at a school in Peshawar.
"It is a senseless act of unspeakable brutality that has claimed lives of the most innocent of human beings - young children in their school.
"My heart goes out to everyone who lost their loved ones today. We share their pain and offer our deepest condolences."
Peshawar is a city of more than three million people situated in the north west of Pakistan, close to the Khyber Pass crossing into Afghanistan.
Over the decades since the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, it has housed many thousands of refugees seeking to escape unrest in its troubled neighbour, and it has been used as a base by Afghan fighters.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province of which Peshawar is the capital, has been a focus of the struggle between the authorities and the Pakistani Taliban, and the city has been the scene of a string of militant murders, abductions and bombings, most notably a 2009 car bomb which killed 137.
Former Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi expressed "utter condemnation for this barbaric targeting of children".
"My thoughts and prayers are with the families in Pakistan who today mourn the death of their loved ones," she said.
"Terrorism in Pakistan will only be defeated if politicians, army and intelligence services are prepared to work together to the same agenda."
Labour MP for Glasgow Central Anas Sarwar, whose father Mohammad is governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, said: "Heartbreaking news from Pakistan. Reminds us what we take for granted every day - the right to send our kids to school to learn with no fear."
Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi described the "gut-wrenching" scenes as "an utterly barbaric and inhumane attack on innocent children".
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the UK-based Ramadhan Foundation, condemned the "brutal and evil" assault as "an attack against all Pakistanis" and "an affront to Islam".
"I urge Pakistani political parties to postpone their protests and stand with the victims and their families," said Mr Shafiq. "Terrorism is a cancer within Pakistan and needs to be removed permanently.
"As a parent, I cannot imagine what the parents are going through, they remain in my prayers and hearts. There is no justification for this barbarism and we as Muslims reject these utterly heartless people. We urge all Pakistanis to unite against the Taliban and all terrorist groups."
The leader of Pakistan's MQM party, Altaf Hussain, said: "Words are not enough to express our grief and condemn this heinous attack. Our prayers and wishes are with the teachers, children and their families.
"I call upon the authorities to take all necessary action to bring the perpetrators of the abhorrent attack to justice."
Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, Khalid Mahmood, said that Britain and other western powers should rethink their support for Pakistan's government, which he said had let down its people by losing control of parts of the country.
Mr Mahmood said UK aid should be redirected away from the authorities to non-governmental organisations, in order to avoid it being lost through incompetence and corruption.
Condemning the school attack as "total and utter barbarity and cruelty" that could not be justified either on religious grounds or in terms of retaliation for Pakistani military actions, Mr Mahmood said: "There are real issues for the government and people of Pakistan to look at.
"Over the last six to nine months, there has been total disarray in the national government ... There is no protection for these people. They ought to have control in a place like Peshawar. Not to be in control is an absolute abdication of responsibility.
"It is the responsibility of a government to get its structures in order and at the moment they are not in order, and while that situation exists, it is ludicrous for the UK and US to go on supporting this so-called democratic government in this way. They are not fit for purpose to run a country like Pakistan."
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