Taliban's 12 child bombers - 'chain of terror' that brought child killers
TWELVE more children are being groomed to carry out suicide attacks against British forces in an escalation of the Taliban’s new dirty war.
As Gordon Brown, in Afghanistan yesterday, praised the bravery of three Royal Marines killed by a 13-year-old
suicide bomber, we disclose that the attack is just the start of a concerted campaign to drive out British troops.
Intelligence sources say 12 Pakistani children are being groomed at a secret camp in the mountains where their controllers give them heroin as part of their brainwashing techniques.
The campaign is designed to sap morale and turn public opinion against the war. There are also concerns that some of the child bombers may be sent to Britain to attack civilian targets. The Sunday Express revealed last February that a 12-year-old Afghan boy smuggled into Britain told Scotland Yard he had been groomed to carry out attacks by the Taliban and was sent to England by his worried mother to avoid death. He is now studying at a comprehensive.
It is turning into a very dirty war
During a trip to Kabul yesterday, Mr Brown publicly voiced his concerns about the threats faced at home and abroad.
“There is a chain of terror that comes from the Pakistani and Afghan mountains right across Europe and can end up very easily on the streets of Britain,” he said. “I would like to refer to the deaths of four very brave soldiers who were lost carrying out their duties in a spirit of sacrifice and service.
“For the Taliban to engage in such cowardly behaviour that means that a 13-year-old boy is used to kill British troops is something that will offend public opinion not just in Britain, but right across the world.”
As he spoke, British and American intelligence agents were trying to track down the 12 youngsters who were recruited by the Taliban from a religious school in Pakistan and then “prepared” for their missions in Afghanistan. Tory MP Patrick Mercer said the use of child suicide bombers was further evidence that the Taliban were adopting tactics used by insurgents in Iraq.
Mr Mercer, a former Army colonel, said: “It is turning into a very dirty war. There are all sorts of parallels with Vietnam. The tactics, like those used by the Vietcong, are the dirtiest and most underhand available.”
He said the use of women and children as suicide bombers might force the Army to deploy more women on the front line to carry out searches, with the result that there would be more female casualties.
He added: “I think we are going to be in Afghanistan for years, and it is not a war in which we are going to have a military victory in the conventional sense.
“The Government should be doing much more to explain to the public why we are there. It is terrible that we have Marines being killed by 13-year-olds, but they are there trying to stop 13- year-olds killing people on the streets of London or Bradford.”
The Ministry of Defence last night confirmed the names of the four dead Marines.
Lance Corporal Steven Fellows, 26, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was killed when an explosion struck his vehicle on Friday in Sangin district.
Later that day, Sergeant John Manuel, 38, of Gateshead, was killed in a suicide attack south of Sangin.
Corporal Marc Birch, 26, of Kingsthorpe, Northampton, died of his injuries at the scene. Marine Damian Davies, 27, of Telford, Shropshire, died later in hospital at Camp Bastion.
Reports said the three Marines were approached by a boy pushing a wheelbarrow. It was not clear whether the child detonated the bomb himself or it was set off by an accomplice.
Major Spike Kelly of 45 Commando, based in Arbroath, Angus, said: “These men were highly professional and thoroughly committed commandos and their loss will be felt extremely keenly.” The small Scots town was shrouded in grief yesterday. Floral tributes were left in front of the base.
One message read: “WHY? Another loss of an innocent life. Another devastated family.” Another, left with a bunch of
yellow roses by the parents of a soldier, said: “The very sad loss of some very brave boys. God bless you. Our love and thoughts.”
Councillor Donald Morrison said: “It’s terrible to lose a loved one at any time but more so just a few weeks from Christmas.”
Newsagent Lynne McFetridge, 46, said: “This has hit the town hard. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time.” It was 45 Commando’s third tour of duty in Helmand. They left home 10 weeks ago. The deaths make up the greatest single loss of life for the group since the Falklands campaign.
