The British Army has dismissed a solider for stabbing a 10-year-old Afghan boy in his kidneys, said a media report.

According to a report in the Guardian, Grenadier Guardsman Daniel Crook was on a vodka-drinking binge when he bayoneted the boy for no apparent reason in March last year. Left with a big scar on the back from the wound, the boy, Ghulam Nabi, is still unable to attend school as he struggles to walk the 1-km stretch and cannot ride the bicycle. Ghulam's father, Haji Shah Zada, also said the attack had left his family in a poor state.

After a court martial in June, Crook was jailed for 18 months and dismissed from the army. The recent conviction is the latest in a series of prosecutions against British military personnel accused of causing civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

The Guardian reports that during the court martial hearing, it was heard that Crook drank heavily overnight and followed his colleagues after arming himself with a pair of grenades and bayonet the next day. As a safety measure, Crook's rifle had been confiscated after being treated by doctors for his all-night drinking.

Later, the former army officer, who was alone and not on patrolling duty, met the pair - Ghulam Nabi and his 72-year-old father during their biking trip. However, Crook suddenly ordered Ghulam, who was sent to collect a bottle of curd, to stop and attacked the young boy when he did not listen. Crook grabbed the boy and stabbed him in the back, near the waist, with his bayonet.

Ghulam's father said: "His clothes were covered with blood. We put him in a car and raced to Lashkar Gah but the doctors couldn't treat him there and we took him to Kandahar," reported the Guardian.

Meanwhile, having admitted the truth, Crook was handcuffed and asked for an explanation for his deed. During the court martial, the judge described the trigger for the crime as "the considerable amount of alcohol consumed the night before" and ruled that he had put the lives of his comrades in danger.

Ghulam's impoverished family said they did not receive any apology from the British forces following the stabbing incident. "Of course foreigners are the enemies of Afghans - otherwise he (Grenadier Guardsman Daniel Crook) wouldn't do that to innocent child who was just going by on his bike." On the question of compensation, he said: "We had asked for $40,000 but they only gave us $800," reported the Guardian.

Till now, as many as six members of the British armed forces have been or are being prosecuted over allegations of abusing or wounding Afghan civilians since March last year.

In a separate incident, another soldier is being investigated on suspicion of murder after he allegedly shot dead an Afghan civilian who was digging near a military base, said the Guardian. The private in the Royal Welsh Regiment may be charged in the Helmand province incident that occurred in June last year. .

Afghanistan