February 2010 Lower Dir bombing
The February 2010 Lower Dir bombing was a suicide bombing in the Lower Dir District area of Pakistan on 3 February 2010.[1] At least 8 people, including three American soldiers, died. Three schoolgirls were among the dead.[2] Another 70 people, including 63 schoolgirls, were among the injured.[1]
| February 2010 Lower Dir bombing | |
|---|---|
| Part of War in North-West Pakistan | |
 Location of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan | |
| Location | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Date | 3 February 2010 |
| Target | Girls' school |
Attack type | Suicide school bombing, Mass murder, terrorism |
| Deaths | 8 |
| Injured | at least 70 |
| Perpetrators | Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan |
Attack
The soldiers were travelling in a convoy and headed for the inauguration of a girls' school. They were part of a contingent of approximately 70 soldiers training Pakistani soldiers in counter insurgency.[3] The bomb went off near another girls school in the village of Koto along the way. The Koto Girls High School was flattened, leaving the girls crying under the rubble.[1] The American soldiers were helping train Pakistan Frontier Corps.[4]
Aftermath
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the bombing. They claimed that the attack was in retaliation of October 2008 attack by Blackwater Worldwide in Peshawar.[5] Pakistan arrested 35 people in connection with this bombing.[6] However a backlash against U.S. troop presence in Pakistan did not happen against some analysts predictions.[3]
References
- Pakistan blast kills US soldiers, BBC, 2010-02-03
- eight including three U.S. Marines killed in Pakistani bomb attack, Xinhua News Agency, 2010-02-03
- US troop presence in Pakistan meets surprisingly muted response, The Christian Science Monitor, 2010-02-04
- Three U.S. soldiers die in Pakistan blast, CNN, 2010-02-03
- Pakistani Taliban claim bombing that killed 3 Americans, CNN, 2010-02-04
- Pakistan Arrests 35 in U.S. Soldiers’ Deaths, The New York Times, 2010-02-05