Pakistan Arrests Taliban Shooters Behind Malala Yousafzai Assassination Attempt

Pakistan officials have announced that the Taliban shooters responsible for attacking teen Malala Yousafzai in 2012 have been arrested.

The head of Pakistan's army announced Friday that ten men affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group had been arrested in connected with the assassination attempt against Yousafzai in October 2012. The men had carried out the mission to kill Yousafzai, who was 14-years-old at the time, under the leadership of Maulana Fazlullah.

"The group involved in the attack on Malala Yousufzai has been arrested," Major General Asim Bajwa told a news conference Friday.

Yousafzai had been targeted by members of the Taliban group in Pakistan's northwestern region of Swat because she had been promoting the importance of education for women while writing under a pseudonym for BBC. Yousafzai's BBC articles were also criticial of the Taliban and its growing power over her community in the Swat Valley.

After recovering from being shot in the head three times, Yousafzai has gone on to become an international symbol for women's rights and the importance of education for girls in the Middle East.

The young girl spoke at the United Nations in 2013, telling world leaders that she would never stop promoting the importance of education.

"So let us wage, so let us wage a glorious struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism, let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first," Yousafzai told the United Nations, receiving a standing ovation.