Karzai meets would-be child suicide bombers

Afghan President Hamid Karzai met a group of would-be child suicide bombers aged as young as seven Wednesday and ordered their release on compassionate grounds. The 20 or so youngsters were recruited individually by the Taliban, often at religious schools, and promised virgins in paradise after they blew themselves up, a statement from the presidential palace said.
However, all of the group were either arrested or surrendered to security forces before they could strike. Afghan officials accuse the Taliban, who are leading a ten-year insurgency against Karzai's government and foreign forces, of using an increasing number of children in suicide attacks, which frequently kill civilians. This is because they are easily recruited and difficult to detect. The Taliban denies it but are known to distort public statements. During the meeting with Karzai, the young boys told of why they agreed to become suicide bombers.