10-year-old sent on suicide mission
A 10-year-old Afghan girl claims that she was pressured by her brother and a friend to carry out a would-be suicide bombing on a border police station in the southern Helmand province.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the alleged attackers after reports spread that the plot was foiled. “Children are the future-makers of the country. They should be taken care of, and education opportunities should be provided for them,” Karzai said. “They shouldn’t be used as a tool for suicide attacks.”
Over the past year, 41 children aged 6 to 11 years old, have been used by insurgents as suicide bombers but intercepted by Afghan police. The girl, known as Spozhmai, who was forced to attempt the attack, is now under government protection.