10-year-old Afghan girl claims the Taliban forced her to wear a suicide vest

The girl, who identified herself only as Spozhmai, claims she was forced to wear a suicide bomb vest by her brother - a Taliban commander. Credit: RTV

Video report by ITV News Diplomatic Correspondent John Ray

A 10-year-old Afghan girl has claimed the Taliban forced her to wear a suicide bomb vest in an attempt to blow up a police checkpoint.

The girl, who identified herself only as Spozhmai, told reporters that her brother, a Taliban commander, made her wear the vest.

Spozhmai said the plan failed because a river she was supposed to cross was too cold.

Afghan MP Fawzai Koofi has called the girl's claims "shocking".

Ms Koofi said: "We have seen different kinds of suicide bombers, including women, young boys and men, but [this] is the first time that we see a girl so young being motivated by her brother".

The Taliban has often boasted of turning children into "warriors".

Footage posted on YouTube, which cannot be independently verified by ITV News, appears to show Afghan children pretending to detonate a suicide vest as they play:

The local police commander said of Spozhmai's case, "No religion, no man should turn a child into a killer".

The 10-year-old girl is currently being held by police in Afghanistan.

Former leader of the Liberal Democrats Lord Ashdown told ITV News that the war in Afghanistan has been "a text book example of how not to run one of these things".

"If we are leaving with most of the mission unaccomplished then the fault lies with us", he added.