Five female teachers in Pakistan have been slaughtered by Islamic militants bent on keeping women and girls away from education.
They were murdered in a New Year's Day ambush on the van carrying them home from their jobs at a community centre and primary school in the north-west of the country.
The teachers and two health workers - one man and one woman - were killed this afternoon in the conservative Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

It was in this region that a Taliban gunman shot 15-year-old Malala Yousufzai in the head last October for criticizing the militants and promoting girls' education. She is currently recovering in Britain.

The attack was a reminder of the risks faced by educators and aid workers, especially women, in an area where Islamic militants often target women and girls trying to get an education.

Many militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province oppose female education and have blown up schools and killed female educators as a way to discourage girls from getting an education.