Afghanistan: Girl, 8, Used as Unwitting Suicide Bomber

An 8-year-old girl became an unwitting suicide bomber in an attack on police today, according to Afghanistan's interior ministry. Insurgents gave the child a package and told her to bring it to police, detonating the explosives as she neared them. No one else was killed in the attack, reports the BBC, which notes that it took place in a remote town where it was impossible to independently verify the incident.

"The child, pure-hearted and in good faith, took the bag and moved towards the police vehicle," said the interior ministry statement. "As she got close to the police vehicle, the enemy detonated the bomb by remote control, killing the innocent child." The district's governor denounced the act as despicable, saying the insurgents had "no boundary, no respect for anything." (More Afghanistan stories.)