.Britain Reports Boy Conducted Suicide Attack in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — Military officials said Saturday that an attack on British marines in southern Afghanistan was carried out by a boy who was carrying a bomb hidden under newspapers.
The attack, which killed three British marines in Helmand Province on Friday morning, was condemned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain in a surprise visit to the province on Saturday. He accused the Taliban of “cowardly behavior” for using a child as a suicide bomber.
A coalition spokesman, Capt. Mark Windsor of the British Navy, said the bomber was believed to be about 13.
A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef, denied that the bomber was a child and said that the Taliban had enough adult fighters willing to sacrifice their lives, according to CNN.
The Taliban have previously recruited students from religious schools to carry out suicide attacks in Afghanistan.
In October, Afghan intelligence officers arrested two teenage boys, including one from Helmand Province, who were suspected of planning a suicide attack against foreign soldiers.
Dawoud Ahmadi, spokesman for the governor of Helmand Province, said it was “not impossible to believe” that the attack on Friday was carried out by a child, but he refrained from drawing any conclusions.
“We don’t know if this kid was the attacker or the one killed in the explosion,” he said.
In June 2007, President Hamid Karzai pardoned a 14-year-old Pakistani who was caught wearing a suicide bomb vest on his way to assassinate a provincial governor. The boy, from South Waziristan, said he was taught how to drive and shown combat training videos at his school.
The Britons were killed in the Sangin District, where they were on a patrol. Early Sunday a roadside bomb killed three Canadian soldiers and wounded another. A British soldier was also killed in a separate attack in Helmand Province on Friday.
Tensions between Mr. Karzai and Western leaders have increased because of recent civilian casualties. On Friday, American soldiers opened fire on a civilian bus in central Afghanistan, killing four passengers after the driver refused to stop, military officials said.
Coalition forces are also investigating events surrounding an ambush of a patrol on Wednesday, another clash that is likely to elevate tensions with civilians. Unconfirmed reports indicate that when troops returned fire, three civilians — two men and a woman — were killed.
NYT
The attack, which killed three British marines in Helmand Province on Friday morning, was condemned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain in a surprise visit to the province on Saturday. He accused the Taliban of “cowardly behavior” for using a child as a suicide bomber.
A coalition spokesman, Capt. Mark Windsor of the British Navy, said the bomber was believed to be about 13.
A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef, denied that the bomber was a child and said that the Taliban had enough adult fighters willing to sacrifice their lives, according to CNN.
The Taliban have previously recruited students from religious schools to carry out suicide attacks in Afghanistan.
In October, Afghan intelligence officers arrested two teenage boys, including one from Helmand Province, who were suspected of planning a suicide attack against foreign soldiers.
Dawoud Ahmadi, spokesman for the governor of Helmand Province, said it was “not impossible to believe” that the attack on Friday was carried out by a child, but he refrained from drawing any conclusions.
“We don’t know if this kid was the attacker or the one killed in the explosion,” he said.
In June 2007, President Hamid Karzai pardoned a 14-year-old Pakistani who was caught wearing a suicide bomb vest on his way to assassinate a provincial governor. The boy, from South Waziristan, said he was taught how to drive and shown combat training videos at his school.
The Britons were killed in the Sangin District, where they were on a patrol. Early Sunday a roadside bomb killed three Canadian soldiers and wounded another. A British soldier was also killed in a separate attack in Helmand Province on Friday.
Tensions between Mr. Karzai and Western leaders have increased because of recent civilian casualties. On Friday, American soldiers opened fire on a civilian bus in central Afghanistan, killing four passengers after the driver refused to stop, military officials said.
Coalition forces are also investigating events surrounding an ambush of a patrol on Wednesday, another clash that is likely to elevate tensions with civilians. Unconfirmed reports indicate that when troops returned fire, three civilians — two men and a woman — were killed.
NYT
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