Mingora street bazaar (Creative Commons).

The brothers are Qari Inamullah, Obaid Ullah and Abdul Hadi, originally from the Swat Valley, the Los Angeles Times reported. None of the men are believed to be the Taliban gunmen who tried to kill Yousafzai Tuesday, and authorities will not discuss what role they may have played in the shooting.

Yousafzai was in a van heading home from school in Mingora when two gunmen on a motorcycle forced the vehicle to stop, the Times reported. One man boarded the van and asked which girl was Yousafzai. When no one answered, the man fired at the teenager, hitting her in the head. 

According to the BBC, the militants said they targeted her because she “promoted secularism.” 

A Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, told BBC Urdu Tuesday that Yousafzai would not be spared if she survived. 

Two other girls were injured in the shooting, one of them remains in critical condition.

Yousafzai survived. Surgeons removed the bullet on Wednesday that struck her temple and lodged in her neck, according to the Times. Doctors said her condition is serious but improving. 

The attack sparked national outrage among Pakistanis, the BBC reported, who gathered in several cities to protest the Taliban and held prayers for her recovery. 

The BBC reported that authorities will now have to consider how to protect Yousafzai. 

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage on Malala Yousafzai here.

Reach Executive Producer Agnus Dei Farrant here.