Islamist Attack on Afghan Police Delivered by Unknowing 8 yo Girl

Latest Afghan Violence Takes Toll on Women and Children

VoA News: Afghan officials say a hospital bombing and an attempted attack on a police outpost have killed mostly unsuspecting women and children.

On Sunday, Afghanistan's interior ministry accused insurgents of giving a bag of explosives to an eight-year-old girl and telling her to deliver it to a police station.

Authorities said that as the little girl approached the outpost in southern Uruzgan province on Saturday, the bag exploded, killing her.

Also Sunday, Afghan officials said the death toll from a suicide attack on a hospital in eastern Afghanistan has risen to 38, with most of the victims being women and children.

Another 50 people were wounded in the Saturday attack in Logar province's Azra district, near the border with Pakistan.

Authorities said a sports utility vehicle rammed into the hospital and blew up, devastating the building and burying people in the rubble.

The Taliban has denied responsibility for the attack. However, the insurgent group is active in the region and often carries out suicide attacks.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Barack Obama announced 10,000 American troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of the year. And a total of 33,000 U.S. forces will be withdrawn September of 2012.

Some Afghans are concerned that gains made against the Taliban will be lost if foreign troops are withdrawn before Afghan forces are ready to take over security,