Pakistani Teen Dies Preventing School Bombing

A Pakistani teen was killed this week while attempting to stop a suicide bombing at his school in northwest Pakistan.

Pakistani media reports that 17-year-old Aitzaz Hasan was late for school in his remote village of Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, when he and classmates observed a suicide bomber approaching the building. His classmates ran inside, but Hasan chased the attacker away from the school. A teacher saw the attacker detonate his bomb, instantly killing the teen.

Hasan's older brother, Mujtaba Hasan, says that he is proud of his brother’s sacrifice. “I had never thought that my brother would die such a great death,” he told reporters. “He sacrificed his life to save humanity.”

Throughout Pakistan, Hasan is being hailed as a hero.

In many areas of northwestern Pakistan, suicide bombings have become an all too frequent reality. One local resident, Miqdar Khan, said that Hasan’s views on militants and suicide bombers were known to everyone in his small community.

“Aitzaz Hasan used to tell all that one day he would capture some suicide bomber, and his class fellows used to laugh,” he said. “But this boy proved what he said, and I am sad that he left us too early.”

Hasan's father, Mujahid Ali, added, “My son made his mother cry but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children.”