Islamabad, Pakistan - Three American soldiers were among at least seven people killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb struck a convoy on its way to a girls school opening in northwest Pakistan. The explosion took place in Lower Dir in the North West Frontier Province, which has repeatedly come under militant attack in recent months.
The American soldiers were in Pakistan to help train the country's security forces, said Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, spokesman for the Pakistani military. FULL POST
The United States says Pakistan looms large because Taliban and al Qaeda militants operating in Afghanistan also have had a presence in Pakistan's northwestern region near the Afghan border and have threatened the governments and troops in both countries.
But how will the country help the U.S.? CNN correspondent Reza Saya in Pakistan examines.