Sunni Man
Diamond Member
In an attack drawing widespread condemnation, a lone Taliban gunman today approached a crowded school bus in Pakistan's once-volatile Swat region and opened fire. His target: A 14-year-old girl who'd campaigned against the Taliban for the right to go to school.
Television footage showed Malala Yousafzai lying on a stretcher and being airlifted to a military hospital in Peshawar. The gunman approached the bus and asked whether anyone could identify Malala, according to local police.
When one of her schoolmates singled out the teen, the gunman shot her twice, including once in the head. He also shot the girl who identified Malala before fleeing.
Malala is in serious condition, while the other girl's condition is unknown.
A Taliban spokesman has claimed responsibility, referring to her campaign for the right to go to school an "obscenity.
"This was a new chapter of obscenity, and we have to finish this chapter," Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. "We have carried out this attack."
Malala's rise to prominence began in 2009, when she wrote a diary for BBC Urdu under a pseudonym chronicling the oppression she and other girls at her school faced at the hands of the Taliban. At the time, the Taliban had ordered the closure of all girls schools in the region.
Her father, who ran a private school, was forced to comply, leaving Malala and her friends with nowhere to study. In all, 50,000 girls were forced out of school in a matter of days.
In one blog post titled "Do not wear colourful dresses," Malala wrote about not wearing school uniforms, to avoid being detected by the Taliban.
Pakistani Rights Activist, 14, Shot by Taliban After Encouraging Girls to Go to School - ABC News
Television footage showed Malala Yousafzai lying on a stretcher and being airlifted to a military hospital in Peshawar. The gunman approached the bus and asked whether anyone could identify Malala, according to local police.
When one of her schoolmates singled out the teen, the gunman shot her twice, including once in the head. He also shot the girl who identified Malala before fleeing.
Malala is in serious condition, while the other girl's condition is unknown.
A Taliban spokesman has claimed responsibility, referring to her campaign for the right to go to school an "obscenity.
"This was a new chapter of obscenity, and we have to finish this chapter," Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. "We have carried out this attack."
Malala's rise to prominence began in 2009, when she wrote a diary for BBC Urdu under a pseudonym chronicling the oppression she and other girls at her school faced at the hands of the Taliban. At the time, the Taliban had ordered the closure of all girls schools in the region.
Her father, who ran a private school, was forced to comply, leaving Malala and her friends with nowhere to study. In all, 50,000 girls were forced out of school in a matter of days.
In one blog post titled "Do not wear colourful dresses," Malala wrote about not wearing school uniforms, to avoid being detected by the Taliban.
Pakistani Rights Activist, 14, Shot by Taliban After Encouraging Girls to Go to School - ABC News