London: A soldier has been dismissed from the Army after stabbing a 10-year-old Afghan boy with a bayonet, the Guardian said on Saturday, in a report confirmed by the Ministry of Defence
The report said Grenadier Guardsman Daniel Crook had a hangover when he bayoneted the boy, who was on an errand. Crook could not explain why carried out the attack, which took place early last year, the report said.
The Guardian quoted prosecutors as saying that the day after a heavy drinking session in March, Crook had come across Ghulam Nabi riding his bike and ordered him to stop.
"But he was just a little child and didn't understand. The soldier had just come out of his base and he didn't have a gun, only a bayonet. He grabbed Ghulam and stabbed him in the back, near his waist," the Guardian quoted prosecutors as saying.
Crook was subsequently jailed for 18 months and dismissed from the Army, the Guardian said.
A defence ministry spokeswoman said the report was "correct" but declined to comment on the details.
Bureau Report
First Published: Saturday, December 03, 2011, 21:05