Taliban recruited child soldiers, officials say

ISLAMABAD – Security forces have rescued several children forcibly recruited by the Taliban, allegedly to be used as fighters or suicide bombers, officials said Tuesday.

Pakistani troops are engaged in offensives against the Taliban in various areas along the lawless border with Afghanistan, fighting militants often drawn from among the local communities.

Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed, who heads a special support group tasked with handling the return of people displaced by three months of fighting in the Swat Valley and surrounding areas, said he had met with nine boys rescued from the Taliban.

“They have been brainwashed and trained as suicide bombers, but the nine who I met seemed willing to get back to normal life,” he told state-run television.

Ahmed said the children had told him there were many more, possibly hundreds, like them.

“It seems that there are some 300 to 400 such children who the Taliban had taken forcibly or who they were training,” Ahmed said.