Pakistan militants kill 2 women teachers

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) - Officials say a group of militants has ambushed a van traveling near Khar, the main town in the Bajur tribal region. Two women teachers were killed and two other passengers were wounded.

Local official Adalat Khan says militants hiding on both sides of a rural road sprayed the van with automatic weapons fire as it went past. The fighters then fled on motorcycles.

Pakistan's Taliban fighters are deeply opposed to modern education, particularly for girls, and have blown up schools and attacked teachers across the country.

The Pakistani government launched an offensive in mid-October in the tribal region of South Waziristan, viewed as the main stronghold in the country of both the Taliban and al-Qaida. The offensive has drawn retaliatory militant attacks across Pakistan.