Despite the global outcry, the use of vulnerable children as instruments of war by armed opposition groups continues in Afghanistan

On January 26, a teenage girl strapped with explosives was planning to carry out a suicide attack in Lashkargah, the capital city of southern Helmand province.  The stage was perfectly set for Kolsom to kill herself and leave a trail of destruction. She was prepared for the worst.

However, minutes before she was supposed to detonate her explosives, a voice inside jolted her. She quickly changed her mind and surrendered before the police in Lashkargah. The news hogged headlines across the country.

National Directorate of Security (NDS), the premier security and intelligence agency of Afghan government, in a statement said Kolsom was forced by a local Taliban commander to blow herself upnear a security check post in Lashkargah.