An Afghan girl, 10, said she was forced to carry out a suicide attack, which failed, on a local police station in Helmand province, sparking an outrage from President Hamid Karzai and the international community.
“Children are the future-makers of the country,” he said, in a statement reported by CNN. “They should be taken care of, and education opportunities should be provided for them. They shouldn’t be used as a tool for suicide attacks.”
It’s not clear how the suicide bombing was thwarted, But the girl, known only as Spozhmai, is only one of several children who have been used as a tool of terrorists in Afghanistan. CNN reported that Afghan police discovered 41 children between the ages of 6 and 11 who were integral to militants’ suicide bomb plots in the last 12 months.
Spozhmai has since been taken into the government’s custody and put in protection, Mr. Karzai said in the CNN report.
Her brother, Zahir, is a local Taliban commander, the Interior Ministry said. She said her brother and his friend were the ones who forced her to try to attack the police station, a spokesman said, in CNN.
Her story: They took her to a river by the station and outfitted her with a suicide vest. They then ordered her to cross the river, stay in an abandoned house near the police station until the morning and then walk toward officials as they prepared to go out on their daily patrols, CNN reported.
But Spozhmai started screaming when the water was too cold, authorities said. Nearby police heard her and rushed to the scene. Her brother, who was still at the scene, grabbed her suicide vest and fled, police said. Upon questioning and investigation, police then learned of the whole plot, CNN reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.