February 2010 Lower Dir bombing

{{Infobox civilian attack

| title = February 2010 Lower Dir bombing

| partof = War in North-West Pakistan

| image = Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.svg

| caption = Location of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 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.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8494890.stm Pakistan blast kills US soldiers], BBC, 2010-02-03 At least 8 people, including three American soldiers, died. Three schoolgirls were among the dead.[https://web.archive.org/web/20100206132441/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-02/03/c_13162211.htm eight including three U.S. Marines killed in Pakistani bomb attack], Xinhua News Agency, 2010-02-03 Another 70 people, including 63 schoolgirls, were among the injured.

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. 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. The American soldiers were helping train the Pakistan Frontier Corps.[http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/03/pakistan.blast/index.html?hpt=T2 Three U.S. soldiers die in Pakistan blast], CNN, 2010-02-03

Aftermath

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.[http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/02/04/pakistan.attack.claim/ Pakistani Taliban claim bombing that killed 3 Americans], CNN, 2010-02-04 Pakistan arrested 35 people in connection with this bombing.[https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/05/world/asia/05arrests.html Pakistan Arrests 35 in U.S. Soldiers’ Deaths], The New York Times, 2010-02-05 However, a backlash against U.S. troop presence in Pakistan did not happen against some analysts' predictions.[http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0204/US-troop-presence-in-Pakistan-meets-surprisingly-muted-response US troop presence in Pakistan meets surprisingly muted response], The Christian Science Monitor, 2010-02-04