Wasil Ahmad

Lore & Background

Wasil Ahmad was born in Uruzgan province, a region long a centre of conflict. His father had been killed fighting the Taliban, and Ahmad later stated that seeking revenge for his father's death was his main motivation. His uncle Samad, a former Taliban commander who switched sides in 2012, trained Ahmad in the use of AK-47 and PK machine guns, rockets, mortars, satellite phones, and VHF radios. Samad became the Afghan Local Police commander in Khas Uruzgan District.

In summer 2015, the Taliban besieged Khas Uruzgan. Samad was injured, and Ahmad took command of his uncle's unit. At the height of the Dan Sango siege, Ahmad commanded 75 pro-government soldiers against hundreds of Taliban. He fired mortars, rockets, and machine guns from the compound roof and handled communications with the outside world, serving as the point of contact for Afghan special forces. The siege lasted 71 days; Ahmad commanded for 43 of them. When the siege was lifted in August 2015, Ahmad and 35 surviving soldiers were airlifted out by Afghan and NATO helicopters to Tarin Kowt. Samad said authorities praised both him and his nephew as heroes.

After the siege, Ahmad enrolled in fourth grade and received private tuition. He improved his English but was not a good student; a neighbor later suggested this was because he had been highly encouraged by police officials and awarded medals, and only wanted to play with weapons and drive police vehicles. He was authorized to carry a pistol to school. On February 1, 2016, on his way to school at the local bazaar, masked gunmen on a motorbike shot him twice in the head. He died in a Kandahar hospital and was buried in the local Shahidano cemetery.

Reader's Guide

Wasil Ahmad's case became a flashpoint in the debate over child soldiers in Afghanistan. His uncle Samad stressed that Ahmad was merely defending his family while Samad recovered from injuries. However, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission stated that supplying Ahmad with a gun and a police uniform breached anti-child-soldiering laws. The commission also suggested that the police endangered Ahmad's life by lauding him as a hero, garlanding him with plastic flowers and holding a program at police headquarters where his bravery was discussed. The Ministry of Interior Affairs denied that government forces used child soldiers, while the charity Child Soldiers International claimed both sides used them. The controversy highlighted the blurred lines between family defense, local militia service, and state-sanctioned child soldiering in a conflict zone. Ahmad's death at age eleven, after commanding a unit in a 71-day siege, remains a stark example of the human cost of the war in Afghanistan.

Did You Know?

• Wasil Ahmad was trained by his uncle in AK-47s, PK machine guns, rockets, mortars, satellite phones, and VHF radios.
• He commanded 75 pro-government soldiers against hundreds of Taliban during a 71-day siege.
• He was shot twice in the head by masked gunmen on a motorbike while on his way to school.
• The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said his use as a child soldier breached anti-child-soldiering laws.