Pakistan held, freed militant before girl's attack

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 file photo, Pakistani students hold pictures of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by the Taliban, during a protest condemning the attack, in Karachi, Pakistan. Despite widespread outrage over the Taliban shooting a female teenage activist, Pakistani leaders and opinion makers are divided over whether the government should respond by targeting the militants' last major sanctuary along the Afghan border.(AP Photo/Fareed Khan, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 file photo, Pakistani students hold pictures of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot last Tuesday by the Taliban, during a protest condemning the attack, in Karachi, Pakistan. Despite widespread outrage over the Taliban shooting a female teenage activist, Pakistani leaders and opinion makers are divided over whether the government should respond by targeting the militants' last major sanctuary along the Afghan border.(AP Photo/Fareed Khan, File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012 file photo, 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, is moved to a helicopter to be taken to Peshawar for treatment in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan. Despite widespread outrage over the Taliban shooting a female teenage activist, Pakistani leaders and opinion makers are divided over whether the government should respond by targeting the militants' last major sanctuary along the Afghan border. (AP Photo/Sherin Zada, File)

Indian students participate in a prayer ceremony in support of and for the recovery of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot in the head last Tuesday by the Taliban for speaking out in support of education for women, at a school in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012. Experts are optimistic that Yousufzai, who was airlifted Monday to Britain to receive specialized medical care, has a good chance of recovery because unlike adults, the brains of teenagers are still growing and can adapt to trauma better. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

(AP) ? One of the two Taliban militants suspected of attacking a teenage girl activist was detained by the Pakistani military in 2009 but subsequently released, intelligence officials said Thursday.

Malala Yousufzai, 14, was shot and critically wounded on Oct. 9 as she headed home from school in the northwest Swat Valley. The Taliban said they targeted Malala, a fierce advocate for girls' education, because she promoted "Western thinking" and was critical of the militant group.

The military detained Attaullah during the army's 2009 offensive in Swat because of suspected ties with the Pakistani Taliban, which had established effective control over the valley at the time, said two intelligence officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The military successfully pushed most of the militants out of Swat, but Attaullah was released because of a lack of evidence linking him to specific attacks, said the officials. It's unclear how long he was held.

The shooting of Malala outraged people around the world and stepped up pressure on the Pakistani government to intensify its fight against the Taliban and their allies.

Malala was airlifted to England earlier this week for specialized treatment and to protect her from follow-on attacks by the Taliban, who have threatened to target her again until she is killed.

A Pakistani official said Wednesday that Malala was improving and has been moving her limbs. The official, who said he was briefed by Malala's doctors in England, spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't cleared to talk on the record about the case.

___

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, and Raphael Satter in London contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-10-18-Pakistan/id-08ba75cf88e546f6a34f0951e317d8a6

tannehill joel ward mock draft washington redskins north country brian mcknight sbux