Pakistani Insurgent Group Is Using 8-Year Old Kids As Covert Bombers

APIn this Friday, Feb. 22, 2013 photo, Pakistanis gather at the rubble of a market which was destroyed by a bomb blast on Saturday, February 16, 2013, in Quetta, Pakistan.A separatist group called the Baloch Liberation Army is now using children to bomb targets in their fight for independence from Pakistan, according to a report from CNN.

In a raid in Quetta, Pakistani authorities rounded up 11 children — ranging in age between 8 and 15. They confirmed the children were used in attacks.

From CNN:

"The children have confessed to more than a dozen bombings," Mehmood said. One of the suspects confessed to a January 10 blast that left 11 people dead and 67 wounded. In the attack, a bomb was left near a busy market.

According to the Institute for the Study of Violent Groups, the BLA was founded in 1999 and has approximately 500 members. They've claimed responsibility for a number of attacks, including bombings, and murders of government officials.

While the practice of using children in warfare is abhorrent, using them to move or place bombs is likely used by the group because they would rarely be suspected, or be searched for contraband by security officials.