On February 1, Wasil Ahmad, a young afghan boy commended for leading security services against the Taliban was killed, according to Afghan authorities. The 11-year-old led a battle against a 71-day Taliban siege, commanding a police unit for 43 days. Armed motorcyclists shot Ahmad in the head at a market in Tarin Kowt, the capital of the Uruzgan providence. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing on their website the same day he died. Ahmed had only recently reverted to a neutral life, as he had come to study in Tarin Kowt last year after surviving the battle against the Taliban, according to Dost Mohammad Nayab, spokesman for Uruzgan’s governor. Though national and international laws banned the use of children in combat, Wasil Ahmad quickly learned to fight against the Taliban, asking his uncle, Mullah Samad, for support. “I asked him why he wanted to learn,” he said. “He told me he wanted to take revenge for those who had killed his father.” Samad trained Ahmad in the use of AK-47 as well as PK machine guns, rockets, mortars. Ahmad also learned how to use satellite phones and VHF radios.
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Ahmad fired his machine gun from the roof of his house endlessly. “There were days when he fired up to 3,000 bullets,” Saman said, noting that the young child had killed a significant amount of Taliban fighters. Ahmad’s father, along with Saman, had previously been Taliban fighters before switching sides to fight for the government in 2012, but unfortunately Ahmad’s father was killed in 2013 by the Taliban.
After the siege, Wasil Ahmad was excelling in his school, and was even learning a bit of English. He had hoped to join the police force after he finished his education, but after only a few weeks of classes, he was killed during the winter break. He is survived by his mother and five younger
Ahmad fired his machine gun from the roof of his house endlessly. “There were days when he fired up to 3,000 bullets,” Saman said, noting that the young child had killed a significant amount of Taliban fighters. Ahmad’s father, along with Saman, had previously been Taliban fighters before switching sides to fight for the government in 2012, but unfortunately Ahmad’s father was killed in 2013 by the Taliban.
After the siege, Wasil Ahmad was excelling in his school, and was even learning a bit of English. He had hoped to join the police force after he finished his education, but after only a few weeks of classes, he was killed during the winter break. He is survived by his mother and five younger