REVENGE

Taliban Strikes U.S. Officials in Pakistan

Militants avenge death of bin Laden.

A Taliban car bomb struck a vehicle carrying U.S. officials to a major convoy in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Friday, the Associated Press reports. The bomb injured two Americans, killed a Pakistani civilian, and wounded at least 10 others. The militants said in a statement that the attack was planned as revenge for the death of Osama bin Laden. "We say to the Americans and NATO that we will carry out more deadly attacks and we can do it," said Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan over the phone from an unknown location. "We had warned that we will avenge the martyrdom of Osama." And the Islamist extremist group is sticking to its word. The Taliban's spring offensive has been alarmingly violent and destructive—particularly in Afghanistan—but this is the first direct attack on the U.S. since the bin Laden raid.