11-year-old Afghan boy, hailed as hero for fighting Taliban, killed by militants

Wasil Ahmad, 11, was called a hero after leading men in fight against Taliban, uncle saysMilitants gunned the boy down this week in an Afghan cityChildren are involved in fighting on both sides of Afghan conflict, rights group says

(CNN)An 11-year-old Afghan boy who had been praised for his bravery in leading security forces in battle against the Taliban was killed by the militants this week, Afghan authorities said.

Wasil Ahmad had commanded a police unit for 43 days as it fought to repel a deadly 71-day Taliban siege last year, according to his uncle Mullah Samad, an Afghan Local Police commander in the Khas Uruzgan district of Uruzgan province.

Gunmen on motorbikes shot the boy in the head Monday at a market in Tarin Kowt, the provincial capital of Uruzgan province, said Dost Mohammad Nayab, spokesman for the province's governor.

Wasil was taken to a local hospital, then transferred to a better-equipped hospital in Kandahar, where he died of his injuries, Nayab said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing on its website Monday.