Pakistan said Friday it has arrested a gang of Taliban militants behind the shooting of teen educational campaigner Malala Yousafzai. Yousafzai nearly died when gunmen boarded her schoolbus and shot her in the head in October 2012 over her education activism. “The entire gang involved in the murder attempt…has been busted,” the Pakistani military said in a statement Friday. It said that one man’s apprehension and subsequent confession led to the arrests of nine others involved in the assassination attempt. Weapons also have been recovered, the army added.
The gang – known as “Shura,” according to the army - was led by a furniture-shop owner and also confessed to involvement in a 2012 murder. Had they not been arrested, the group had plans to murder 22 other local figures, the army added. It said the group will be tried on terrorism charges. Malala – who survived and was airlifted to the U.K. for treatment following the attack – has continued to vocally campaign for girls’ education and rights.