She was just five years old -- Taliban kill their youngest victim without batting an eye during school attack

They were told not to kill the littlest children, but they did it anyway, firm in their belief they would see heaven that day. Khola Altaf was just five and attending her second day of school when she was killed in the Taliban attack on her school.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Pakistani authorities have announced that a young girl, aged 5, is the youngest victim of the Taliban terrorists who attacked a school in Peshwar, killing 132 children.

The school was stormed by six suicide attackers on the orders of Taliban commander, Maulana Fazlullah, the same man who ordered the death of child blogger Malala Yousafzai, who survived being shot in the head and went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize this year.

Let us pray for the victims of these terrible attacks.

The six attackers were armed with machine guns, rocket grenades and suicide vests and they systematically went from room to room, killing anyone they could find. When terrified children tearfully huddled under desks, their commanders told the attackers to shoot under the benches to ensure they killed the most people possible.

Hiding was no escape for dozens of children.

Older children were killed too, but it was the news of the little ones that has plummeted Pakistan into mourning. The weaponry they used against these children was so powerful, many kids were reportedly decapitated or dismembered by the bullets.

Once they felt they had rampaged as well as they could, the attackers radioed their sixteen Taliban commanders who were coaching and directing the raid remotely. Wearing suicide vests, the attackers asked when they ought to blow themselves up. They were told to await the arrival of the army.

However, when troops arrived, they immediately engaged the terrorists, shooting all six of the attackers dead. Unfortunately, it was too late for the 132 victims of the attack and the dozens more who were wounded.

The Pakistani people are outraged and look to hang the Taliban who have been flatly condemned around the world. The government has removed a moratorium on the death penalty, and it is now ordered that any terrorists who are captured will face the death penalty if convicted.

A major hunt is underway in northwestern Pakistan where the Taliban maintain several strongholds. The Pakistani government is determined to find the sixteen directors of the attack as well as Maulana Fazlullah, to bring them to justice.

Afghanistan has pledged to support these efforts on their side of the border, but hopes are slim that they will provide effective assistance.

It is very likely that the U.S. government will also provide critical assistance via the CIA and U.S. military, although this will not be publicized.

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