Taliban gunmen in Pakistan have shot and wounded a 14-year-old child activist who became famous for speaking out against the militant group.

Malala Yousufzai was shot twice while getting onto her school bus in Swat Valley Tuesday.

Witnesses told police gunmen arrived at the school and asked for Yousufzai by name before opening fire. She was shot in the head and neck, but doctors say her injuries are not life threatening.

Two other girls were wounded.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the shooting. A spokesman said Yousufzai was “pro-West” and was speaking out against the militant group.

Pakistani Prime Minister Raza Pervez Ashraf and President Asif Ali Zardari both condemned the attack.

Yousufzai is internationally recognized for documenting atrocities committed by the Taliban in the Swat Valley. She wrote under the pseudonym of Gul Makai in a blog published by the BBC.

She described life under the Taliban when militants controlled large areas of Pakistan's Swat Valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province from 2008 to 2009. The group carried out beheadings and other violence.

###