For roughly two years, the insurgent group has used an ancient practice called “bacha bazi,” or pedophilic relationships between older men and young beardless boys, to infiltrate the security forces and launch attacks that have killed hundreds of policemen.
"The Taliban are sending boys -- beautiful boys, handsome boys -- to penetrate checkpoints and kill, drug and poison policemen," said Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Lewanai, Uruzgan's former police chief.
The practice has led to the deterioration of security conditions in Uruzgan, which is on the brink of collapse. The Taliban, for its part, banned bacha bazi during its rule from 1996 to 2001, and has denied using young boys for insider attacks.