Five teachers and two health workers were shot down in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday. The seven people were ambushed as they were travelling in a van taking them home from their jobs at the region's community center, where the group worked for a non-governmental organization.
Some reports suggest that the attacks were carried out by Islamic militants to instill fear in promulgators of women's education. However, others suggest that the attacks were mainly targeted against people working on the polio-vaccination campaign. According to the Washington Times, a similar attack was carried out in December against a similar group of people leaving nine dead.
The seven people worked for a primary school as well as a medical clinic which provided polio vaccinations for children.
No group has yet been identified as the perpetrators of the attack, however Pakistani police said there were four gunman involved. The gunmen were on motorcycles, they have fled from the scene and police are still in search of the men.
Swabi police chief, Abdur Rasheed, said most of those that were killed were females between the ages of 20 and 22. Among the two health workers, one was a man and the other a female as reported by MSN News. According to the director of the NGO, Javed Akhtar, the work of the NGO in respect to its polio vaccination program has been temporarily been suspended.
The father of one of the woman who was killed in the attack told the Washington Times, "I told her many times at home 'be careful as we are poor people and take care of yourself all the time,'" said Fazal Dad, adding "And always in response she said: 'Father, if I am not guilty no one can harm me.'"
The van-driver survived the attack and is currently being treated at the Peshawar Hospital.