Five female teachers were killed in Pakistan when gunmen opened fire during an ambush in northwest Pakistan. In total, seven people were killed. They were riding in a van when they were unexpectedly attacked by two armed men riding motorcycles, according to a Jan. 1, 2013 report by Los Angeles Times.
The other two people killed along with the five female teachers were one man, a health technician and one female health worker. The seven deceased individuals were all members of a Pakistani nongovernmental organization called Support With Working Solutions. They were on their way home from a community center in Swabi, Pakistan when they were ambushed. The community center contains a healthcare clinic and also a school that provides education to 150 children, both male and female.
The van's driver, Abdul Majid, survived the attack, but he is in the hospital where he is recovering from gunshot wounds to his ribcage and left arm. Another survivor, the four-year-old son of the female health worker, was unharmed.
Although the Pakistani Taliban has not taken credit for the shooting, their involvement is suspected but not confirmed. The Taliban was responsible for the attempted assassination of a 14-year-old activist last year. Malala Yousufzai enraged the Taliban for promoting the rights of girls to get an education and by speaking out publicly about the atrocities of the Taliban.
On Oct. 9, 2012, a man with a gun approached a school bus that was returning from a school run by Malala Yousufzai's father in the northern Swat Valley. The gunman shot Yousufzai in her neck and head, critically wounding her. The Taliban has taken credit for the shooting.
Comments