True Act of Heroism: Teen Gives His Life to Save Lives of Classmates

This is the most gut wrenching story I've heard this year and it's about a hero. A 15-year-old-boy who gave his life to save the lives of almost 2,000 of his classmates.

On Monday, 15-year-old Aitzaz Hasan was with friends outside school in Ibrahimzai in north-western Pakistan when they spotted a man wearing a suicide vest.

His friends begged him not to, but Aitzaz knew in his heart that the right thing to do would be to confront the bomber and try to stop him. Aitzaz grabbed the bomber but he coudn't stop him from detonating the bomb and Aitzaz died of his wounds in hospital. No one else was wounded or killed in the incident.

"My cousin sacrificed his life saving his school and hundreds of students and school fellows," his cousin Mudassar Hassan Bangish told BBC News.

"The suicide bomber wanted to destroy the school and school students. It was my cousin who stopped him from this...destruction."

Police official Shakirullah Bangash told Agence France-Presse that Aitzaz intercepted the bomber about 490 feet away from the main gate of the school, which has around 1,000 students. The schoolchildren were the target of the attack.

The world is hailing Aitzaz as a courageous hero who tried to stop evil and in doing so lost his life, but saved the lives of so many others.

On Twitter, users are paying tribute to Aitzaz using the hashtags #onemillionaitzaz and #AitzazBraveheart.

There are some very strong opinions on both sides of this story, but the bottom line is that this kid gave his life so that others could live. Will it change things in his country? Probably not. But hopefully it'll change things in the lives of those who live because of him.