| February 2010 Lower Dir bombing | |
| Partof: | War in North-West Pakistan |
| Location: | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Type: | Suicide school bombing, Mass murder, terrorism |
| Target: | Girls' school |
| Injuries: | at least 70 |
| Date: | 3 February 2010 |
| Fatalities: | 8 |
| Perps: | Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan |
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]
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. 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 the Pakistan Frontier Corps.[3]
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the bombing. They claimed that the attack was in retaliation for the October 2008 attack by Blackwater Worldwide in Peshawar.[4] Pakistan arrested 35 people in connection with this bombing.[5] However, a backlash against U.S. troop presence in Pakistan did not happen against some analysts' predictions.[6]