MINGORA, Pakistan, July 27 (UPI) -- Teenage Pakistani boys rescued from Taliban captors say they were told it was their religious duty to become suicide bombers.
Murad Ali, 13, one of five schoolboys rescued by government forces in the Swat Valley, told reporters in Mingora that he was psychologically indoctrinated by the Taliban that "martyrdom is the biggest reward of Allah," The Times of London reported.
Another kidnapped boy, Abdul Wahab, 15, said he panicked after the Taliban had lured him to their camp when "I was told that I would be getting training for suicide bombing."
The Pakistani Army say the five boys are among 1,200 to 1,500 youths who were abducted or lured by Islamic militants to serve as suicide bombers after the government signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February. The militants promised a cease-fire in exchange for the imposition of Shariah, or Islamic, law.
"We are trying to track them down," Brigadier Tahir, the commanding officer in Mingora, told The Times. "We are not sure how many of them are still alive."
