A wounded Afghan girl receives treatment at a local hospital after a suicide attack in eastern Khost province on December 28, 2008. A suicide car bomb in eastern Afghanistan has killed 16 people, 14 of them children, NATO's International Security Assistance Force said. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)
And, yes, it was intentional:
The vehicle moves toward the security camera while the children walk in the opposite direction, nearly passing the SUV when the footage ends in a fiery blast.
Photos of the bombing's aftermath showed bloodied textbooks lying on the ground beside small pairs of shoes. Afghan officials said the children were attending a final day of class for the year to find out whether they would move up to the next grade.
I recently looked in-depth at Obama's daunting challenge in Afghanistan. If you missed the piece you can read it here.
--Michael Crowley