Teenage fighters on frontline of Afghan war

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Childhood innocence is soon lost in a country like Afghanistan. However, children have not only been the victims of the war but also its perpetrators - on both sides.

Youngsters are frequently used by the Taliban to carry out brutal attacks, according to the military and officials, with some apparently kidnapped or paid to join the war.

Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security says over 80 percent of the 112 would-be suicide bombers detained in the country in the past nine months were boys aged between 13 and 17.