Afghan insurgents kill 10-year-old fighter

A 10-year-old boy who often fought the Taliban has been shot dead while on his way to school in the southern Uruzgan province.

Rahimullah Khan, Uruzgan's deputy provincial police chief, says that Wasil Ahmad was killed in Tirin Kot, the capital of the province, on Monday.

The boy had often fought Taliban alongside his uncle, Khan said.

Unknown gunmen, described by Khan as insurgents, killed the boy near his home.

He said Ahmad's uncle was formerly a Taliban commander who had changed allegiance to the government and been appointed local police commander in Khas Uruzgan district.

The use of child soldiers is illegal in Afghanistan, but the charity Child Soldiers International says both government forces and insurgents have been recruiting minors for years.