Reply #26: That last article is especially interesting. I hope people take the time to read it... [View All]

[MADem]

.....Three of the boys appeared to be younger than 10 and were visibly traumatized, occasionally breaking down in tears. The others were mostly in their mid-teens. Of the six who spoke to the AP, most said they were made to clean dishes or undergo rigorous physical training. None said he had been trained to carry out a suicide attack.

Feriha Peracha, a clinical neuropsychologist called in by the army to assess the boys, said some of them were clearly depressed and traumatized. However, she said it was unlikely all had been kidnapped as they claimed.

"It's only one or two maximum out of this group that I would say was probably actually taken by force," Peracha said.

The Taliban have been known to persuade boys to join their ranks or even paid impoverished families to hand over a young future fighter, Khan said.

"They are like the Mafia. Some children are inspired by them. They command respect because people are afraid of them," he said.

......I.H., who said he's 12 but looks much younger, said he was snatched off the streets and driven to a training camp.

"We were just playing" in the village when a car drove up, he said. "They blindfolded us."

B.K., a 15-year-old from Mingora, said he was lured into a car.

"They took me to a mountain place that was a training center" where he and other boys were woken before dawn for prayers, followed by strenuous physical exercise, he said.