Taleban accused of using boy aged 12 as a suicide bomber

AFGHAN president Hamid Karzai has accused the Taleban of using a 12-year-old boy as a suicide bomber in an attack yesterday that killed four civilians.

It was one of several attacks across the country that killed seven people, government officials said, in what the Taleban had declared as the first day of its spring offensive.

The insurgent movement announced in a statement on Saturday that it would step up operations against military bases, convoys and Afghan officials, including members of the peace council working to reconcile with top insurgent leaders.

"The use of children and youths who don't know the difference between right and wrong in terrorist attacks is inhumane and against all Islamic principles," the president said.

The suicide bomber detonated a vest packed with explosives inside a bazaar in the Barmal district of Paktika province, 160 miles south-east of Kabul on the border with Pakistan. The blast killed four civilians and injured 12, said Mokhlis Afghan, a spokesman for the provincial governor's office.

Among the dead - and the likely target of the attack - was Sher Nawaz, head of a new district council, Mr Afghan said.

In the Taleban's announcement, it suggested it would try to limit civilian casualties.

"Strict attention must be paid to the protection and safety of civilians by working out a meticulous military plan," it said.

A UN report released this year said the Taleban was responsible for the majority of civilian deaths in 2010, and Afghan and Nato officials have accused the Taleban of breaking its own rules of engagement.