From correspondents in Baghdad | May 10
US soldiers have shot dead a 12-year-old boy who tried to attack a joint American and Iraqi patrol with a grenade in the tense northern city of Mosul.
"Coalition forces fired on two of three individuals positively identified as involved in the attack, killing one, who they later discovered was a 12-year-old boy," Master Sergeant Michael Wetzel said.
"We have every reason to believe that insurgents are paying children to conduct these attacks or assist the attackers in some capacity, but undoubtedly placing the children in harm's way."
The boy was shot on Thursday.
Islamist militants and especially al-Qaeda have in the past been known to use young boys and girls to plant roadside bombs and even carry out suicide attacks.
The US military considers Mosul to be the last major urban stronghold of al-Qaeda militants in Iraq, but Washington's top commander in the country said on Friday that the army was still expected to pull out by the end of June.
"We are on our way out of Baghdad, and we've been slowly turning that over to the Iraqi security forces now for about three months," General Ray Odierno said in Washington.
"We still have some issues that we have to ... work through in Mosul, but I think we're on track. We should be in pretty good shape by the end of June."
The withdrawal from urban centres would fall in line with a deal signed in November by Baghdad and Washington to pull US troops out of cities by June 30 and out of the country by the end of 2011.
"We have every reason to believe that insurgents are paying children to conduct these attacks or assist the attackers in some capacity, but undoubtedly placing the children in harm's way."
The boy was shot on Thursday.
Islamist militants and especially al-Qaeda have in the past been known to use young boys and girls to plant roadside bombs and even carry out suicide attacks.
The US military considers Mosul to be the last major urban stronghold of al-Qaeda militants in Iraq, but Washington's top commander in the country said on Friday that the army was still expected to pull out by the end of June.
"We are on our way out of Baghdad, and we've been slowly turning that over to the Iraqi security forces now for about three months," General Ray Odierno said in Washington.
"We still have some issues that we have to ... work through in Mosul, but I think we're on track. We should be in pretty good shape by the end of June."
The withdrawal from urban centres would fall in line with a deal signed in November by Baghdad and Washington to pull US troops out of cities by June 30 and out of the country by the end of 2011.
Source: The Australian