PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Taliban gunmen attacked a school van in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing four children and the driver in an assault they said was carried out to punish local tribesman for resisting the insurgent movement.

At least 14 other children and two female teachers were wounded in the attack in Matani on the outskirts of the main northwestern city of Peshawar, said police officer Ejaz Khan.

''This was to teach them a lesson and we will continue to carry out attacks wherever and whenever possible no matter if it is a school or a school bus,'' said Mohammad Afridi, a Pakistani Taliban spokesman in the Dara Adam Khel region, which is close to Matani.

Officer Khan said five gunmen armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers attacked the van, which was taking students from the Khyber Grammar School. He said no rocket fire hit the van and that all students were boys between the age of 10 and 15.