By Bashir Ahmad Naadem
Both legs of a child were blown off by a Taliban-planted roadside bomb in southern Kandahar province, where a joint Afghan-foreign force detained two suspected insurgents, an official said on Thursday.
On his way home, the child he stepped on the bomb in the Khakrez district late on Wednesday, the governor's spokesman said.
Blaming the insurgents for planting the device to target government and foreign troops, Zalmay Ayubi said army soldiers took the child to their health facility in the area.
Ayubi said two insurgents were detained during a joint operation in the Noorzai village of Zherai district. He added the detainees were plotting attacks on tribal elders and security forces.
Some mines and 20 jerry canes of explosives were also seized and defused. A third suspect was also detained, but he was released after investigation, Ayubi said.