As Pakistan begins to bury the dead after militants rampaged through an army-run school in Peshawar, killing more than 130 children, images of the assailants have emerged, delivered with a warning that the slaughter was "just the trailer" of attacks to come from the Pakistani Taliban.

Mohammad Khorasani, a spokesman for the group, said the attack was "a gift for those who thought they have crushed us in their so-called military operation in North Waziristan". 

This picture released by the Pakistani Taliban shows the militants who allegedly stormed an army-run school in Peshawar. Photo: AFP

He said such opponents were "always wrong about our capabilities. We are still able to carry out major attacks, and [Tuesday's attack] was just the trailer".  The socially conservative tribal region of Warizistan is home to the Pakistani Taliban. 

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In a statement, the group said six militants, including three suicide bombers, carried out the assault. After a gun battle that lasted nearly nine hours, Pakistani police officials said a total of seven militants had been killed.

The statement was issued on the day of the attack, with the photos of militants emerging today. 

Pakistan school massacre funeral

Pakistan's army chief, General Raheel Sharif, travelled to Afghanistan on Wednesday to seek help in locating the Pakistani Taliban commanders who orchestrated the massacre at a Peshawar school. 

General Sharif and the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar, flew to Kabul, the capital, for meetings with President Ashraf Ghani and General John F. Campbell, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, the Pakistani military said.

The sudden trip came as Pakistanis united in horror and grief at Tuesday's assault, in which Taliban gunmen stormed the Army Public School and Degree College, firing randomly, throwing grenades and lining up some students to be executed.

Of the 148 fatalities, 132 were students.

The government declared three days of mourning, the national flag was lowered to half-staff on all official buildings, and prayer services were scheduled across the country.

Pakistan's fractious military and political leaders also resolved to strike back against the Taliban. For the army, that involved pointing to their sanctuary in Afghanistan.

In its statement, the military said that General Sharif had shared vital elements of intelligence with the Afghan president and US commander in Kabul.

President Ghani assured the Pakistanis of his cooperation against the Taliban, the statement said. There was no immediate reaction from Afghan or US officials in Kabul.

The other element of Pakistan's militant problem, however, lies within - namely the military's history of favouring some Islamist groups while fighting others.

In Peshawar, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that policy was ending.

"We announce that there will be no differentiation between 'good' and 'bad' Taliban," he said.

The Pakistani Taliban, for their part, named the commander responsible for the attack as Omar Mansoor, the Taliban commander for Peshawar and Darra Adam Khel, a nearby tribal district known for its gunsmiths.

In a statement on Wednesday, the militants released photos that showed six armed men, described as the attackers, wearing military fatigues and gripping assault rifles, standing alongside Mansoor.

A Taliban spokesman, Mohammed Khurasani, warned of further attacks unless the army ceased a six-month-old offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal district.

New York Times, Washington Post