Gunmen today killed seven teachers at a school in northwestern Pakistan and another from the same educational institution, in a separate attack on a road.
Earlier today, in other parts of the region, six Pakistani soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with extremists.
The violence highlights the challenges facing Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's government in the wake of increasing extremist attacks across the country in recent months.
In Kuram, a district in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, a group of armed men stormed a government school while students were taking exams. The seven teachers killed were members of the minority Shia community, which is often targeted by extremists.
A teacher from the same school, a Sunni Muslim, was shot dead on the road to Kurama.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and police say it is not known if they are connected.
Earlier today, six soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire in North Waziristan, another district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The army announced that three extremists were also killed in the conflict, but did not provide other details.
That region is a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which is allied with the Afghan Taliban, and other extremists.
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