A Republican lawmaker is seeking information about the Pentagon’s efforts to discourage Afghan forces from sexually abusing children following a report that the Taliban is using child sex slaves to mount insider attacks against police in Afghanistan.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R., Calif.) urged Defense Secretary Ash Carter in a letter Monday to take immediate action to address child rape and reduce the coinciding risk of insider attacks, which he emphasized pose “a direct threat to U.S. service personnel” aiding and advising Afghan forces in the war-torn country.
Hunter, a former Marine, was reacting to an AFP report last week detailing how the Taliban has for months used child sex slaves to mount insider attacks on Afghan police forces in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban has reportedly exploited so-called “bacha bazi” to launch attacks over about two years–at least six between January and April of this year alone–which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Afghan forces.
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