Aitizaz Hasan, 15, is praised for saving classmates' lives by tackling bomber outside his school in north-western Pakistan 
 
 A 15-year-old who died while tried to defend his school in Pakistan's troubled north-west from a suicide bomber has been hailed as a hero for saving the lives of many of his classmates. 
 
 Aitizaz Hasan tackled the bomber as he stood outside as a punishment for being late to school in Hangu, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Monday. 
 
 His two companions fled the scene after spotting the bomb being carried by the man, who was trying to gain access to the school, but Aitizaz grabbed the bomber. 
 
 Unable to stop him from detonating his bomb, Aitizaz later died of his wounds in hospital. 
 
 Hangu has a large community of Shias, an Islamic sect which many militant groups regard as heretics who should convert to the majority Sunni faith or be killed. 
 
 Aitizaz's actions are thought to have saved the lives of many of the 2,000 students who were believed to be in the building at the time. 
 
 "My son made his mother cry, but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children," his father, Mujahid Ali, told the Express Tribune newspaper. 
 
 "There are a handful of people in the world who are martyrs; I am now one of those proud fathers whose son is among them." 
 
 Praise has poured in for Aitizaz's efforts, with some calling for him to be posthumously honoured. 
 
 On social media the young boy has been embraced as a national hero for fighting back at a time when most politicians are desperate to pursue a negotiated settlement with militant groups – a strategy condemned by many terrorism experts. 
 
 "We live in a land where a young child had to give his life fighting a scourge that our own leaders bend over backwards in an attempt to appease," wrote Zarrar Khuhro, a journalist for Dawn newspaper. 
 
 Suicide bomb attacks are increasingly common in Pakistan. A report earlier in the week by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies said suicide attacks had increased by 39% in 2013 to a total of 46. 
 
 On Thursday a crusading policeman famous for battling militants in the troubled city of Karachi was killed by a Taliban suicide bomber who rammed his car with an explosive-packed vehicle. 
 
 Chaudhry Aslam, who as head of Karachi's Criminal Investigation Department had survived numerous other assassination attempts, died alongside several other police officers in the Essa Nagri area of Karachi despite the protection of the bullet-proof car he was travelling in. ||||| Pakistani Teen Dies Stopping Bomber From Striking School 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Basit Shah/AFP/Getty Images Basit Shah/AFP/Getty Images 
 
 A teenager who was killed after reportedly stopping a suicide bomber at a school in northwest Pakistan is being hailed as a hero. 
 
 Aitizaz Hasan, 15, was late for school on Monday and as a punishment wasn't allowed to attend assembly, the Express Tribune newspaper said. 
 
 Hasan and two schoolmates were standing outside the Government High School Ibrahimzai in Hangu, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, when they saw a man approach. One of Hasan's friends spotted a detonator on the man; the schoolmates ran inside. But, as the newspaper wrote, "Aitizaz stood his ground and got hold of the bomber, who then detonated his vest." 
 
 "I had never thought that my brother would die such a great death," Hasan's older brother, Mujtaba Hasan, told the newspaper. "He sacrificed his life to save humanity." 
 
 Hasan's father, Mujahid Ali, said: "My son made his mother cry but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children." 
 
 There were 2,000 students at the school at the time of the attack, responsibility for which was claimed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The U.S. State Department regards the group as a foreign terrorist organization. 
 
 The school is the only one in the Shiite-dominated part of Hangu. The area is known for violence against Shiites. 
 
 Principal Lal Baz told the newspaper: "The attack targeted education, and I am surprised neither the federal nor the provincial government functionary has visited the family. Their silence is condemnable." 
 
 Pakistanis and others are paying their tributes to the teenager on Twitter. Pakistan's media are also weighing in on Hasan's death. 
 
 Writing in the Dawn newspaper, columnist Zarrar Khuhro said: 
 
 "We don't need more [Aitizazes]. Not one or one million. What we need is to be worthy of the one we lost. What we need is for those who claim to lead us to show the courage that this boy did. Perhaps, that is too much to ask from those who roll out apologies and obfuscations with such unerring regularity, but stammer and shake when it comes to naming those responsible for mass murder." 
 
 Meanwhile, an explosion that targeted a police convoy in Karachi on Thursday killed three officers, including one of the city's top police officials. ||||| Taliban executes boy, 7, accused of spying as suicide bomber kills 40 children at wedding 
 
 
 
 By Mail Foreign Service 
 
 Last updated at 4:09 AM on 11th June 2010 
 
 Boy hanged in Helmand province after being put on trial by militants 
 
 More than 40 killed and 77 injured after bomb rips through wedding 
 
 Cameron pledges extra £67m for British troops on first visit to country 
 
 
 
 Taliban militants have executed a seven-year-old boy they accused of being a spy, it emerged today. 
 
 
 
 The child was abducted from his home and taken to a neighbouring village where he was put on trial. 
 
 His captors found him guilty of working for the government. 
 
 
 
 The child was then hanged in public in the village of Heratiyan, in the southern Sangin district of Helmand province. 
 
 
 
 Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai condemned the act as a 'crime against humanity' if proved and said officials were investigating. 
 
 
 
 Horror: Two of the young victims lie in hospital after a suicide bombing at an Afghanistan wedding left 40 dead 
 
 'I don't think there's a crime bigger than that that even the most inhuman forces on earth can commit,' he said. 
 
 
 
 'A seven-year-old boy cannot be a spy. A seven-year-old boy cannot be anything but a seven-year-old boy, and therefore hanging or shooting to kill a seven-year-old boy... is a crime against humanity.' 
 
 
 
 The execution came as 40 people - mainly children and teenagers - were killed when a suicide bomber targeted a wedding. 
 
 
 
 Another 77 were injured after the blast ripped through the party in Kandahar. 
 
 
 
 The bombing happened at around 9pm yesterday in a housing compound where men had gathered during the festivities. 
 
 
 
 Witnesses said the family that was attacked included a number of Afghan police officers. 
 
 
 
 The groom's brother and two of his cousins were in the police force, according to another cousin, Mohammad Alkozay. 
 
 
 
 The groom survived the attack, but was injured. His bride also survived. 
 
 Agha Mohammed, who survived the blast, said the guests were all seated and having a meal when the explosion happened, sending a huge fireball and smoke into the sky. 
 
 
 
 Female guests were at a different house that was not hit, one witness said. 
 
 
 
 Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi denied the group carried out the attack. 
 
 
 
 US military spokesman Wayne Shanks said the deaths were not the result of an airstrike, and said any suggestion otherwise was 'Taliban misinformation'. 
 
 
 
 Nato said in a statement that no service members from the alliance were involved in the incident. 
 
 
 
 The latest bombing happened in Nadahan village in the Argandab district of Kandahar province, considered the spiritual home of the Taliban, It is the focus of a forthcoming US military operation. 
 
 Survivors: Afghan President Hamid Karzai said most of the victims of the bombing had been children 
 
 The latest outbreak of violence came as David Cameron arrived in Afghanistan for his first visit to the country since taking office. 
 
 
 
 The Prime Minister was holding talks with President Hamid Karzai in the capital, Kabul. 
 
 
 
 Since assuming the premiership a month ago, Mr Cameron has been determined to stress that the country - where 10,000 British troops are engaged in fighting the Taliban - is his number one foreign policy priority. 
 
 
 
 Mr Cameron has already met Mr Karzai once, at his country residence, Chequers, as well as speaking to him by telephone. 
 
 
 
 He also despatched a high-level ministerial delegation - comprising Foreign Secretary William Hague, Defence Secretary Liam Fox and International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell - to assess the situation for themselves. 
 
 Mr Cameron's visit was being seen in Whitehall as rounding off a period of assessment and taking stock. 
 
 
 
 Mourning: Men stand around coffins of blast victims outside a hospital in Kandahar city, Afghanistan 
 
 Speaking alongside Mr Karzai at his presidential palace, Mr Cameron announced an additional £67 million for the UK military force in Afghanistan to counter the threat from home-made bombs. 
 
 
 
 The number of British teams dealing with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) will be doubled, said the Prime Minister. 
 
 
 
 He also announced additional aid funding for Afghanistan to build up its army, police and civil service capacity in what he said was 'the vital year' to make progress in stabilising the country. 
 
 
 
 Describing relations between the two countries as 'very, very important', Mr Cameron said he regarded Afghanistan as Britain's most important foreign policy and national security issue. 
 
 
 
 Mr Cameron said: 'My biggest duty as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is to our armed forces, to make sure that they have all the equipment and all the protection they need to do the absolutely vital job that they are doing here in Afghanistan. 
 
 
 
 'I'm pleased to announce today that we will be spending an extra £67 million on countering the IED threat and actually doubling the number of British teams that are there to counter the threat from these explosive devices.' 
 
 Horror: The boy was hanged in Heratiyan, in Afghanistan's Helmand province
– A 15-year-old kid in Pakistan is being hailed as a hero after local reports say he was killed while stopping a suicide bomber from entering his school. As the Express Tribune reports, Aitizaz Hasan was standing with two friends outside his school in Hangu when a man approached and said he needed to go inside. When one of the friends spotted a detonator, he and the other youth fled. But Aitizaz grabbed the bomber, who then set off his explosive and killed them both. Authorities credit him with saving the 2,000 or so people who were inside the school at the time. The story is spreading quickly on social media, with calls to honor the teen posthumously, reports the Guardian. Attacks against Shiites in the town are common, notes NPR, and critics say authorities are too timid to stop them. "We live in a land where a young child had to give his life fighting a scourge that our own leaders bend over backwards in an attempt to appease," writes journalist Zarrar Khuhro in the Dawn newspaper. (Click for the story of another hero.)