Malala Shooting: 10 Jailed For Life Over Attack

A court in Pakistan has jailed 10 people over the attack on schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head in 2012.Taliban militants had claimed responsibility for storming her school bus as she travelled home in Swat, northwest of the capital Islamabad.The men are the first to be convicted over the attack.Each was handed 25 years in jail for their part in the attack on the youngster, who was targeted for campaigning against Taliban efforts to deny girls an education.The youngster, then 15, was seriously wounded and airlifted to Britain for treatment. Two other schoolgirls were wounded.She went on to be a symbol of defiance against the repressive policies of the Islamist movement and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.Now 17, she still lives in Britain and is continuing to campaign for the rights of girls to go to school.An official said none of the four or five men who carried out the attack on Malala was among the 10 men sentenced on Thursday.But he said: "Certainly they had a role in the planning and execution of the assassination attempt on Malala."Police believe the gunman who fired the bullet that hit Malala was able to escape across the border into Afghanistan.Several people, including Pakistani Taliban leader Fazlullah, are wanted in connection with the attack.The hearing took place at an undisclosed location, kept secret for security reasons.Pakistan has been battling a homegrown Islamist insurgency for over a decade following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.Most of the fighting is now concentrated in the tribal districts of North Waziristan and Khyber but Malala's native Swat valley is now relatively peaceful.