In a PBS Frontline excerpt, an Afghan journalist investigates a growing number of militants who fight in the name of al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden. Journalist Najibullah Quraishi travels deep into volatile territory to interview soldiers such as Khan in rural Afghanistan. Khan is the regional commander for the mujahideen and is an Afghan of Arab descent that began training with bin Laden in the early 1980s. Khan told Najibullah his fighters control as much as 10,000 square kilometers in this part of north central Afghanistan, a claim impossible to check. But every day, Najibullah would join Khan's fighters on patrols through their territory. There were scenes he wasn't allowed to film, as they gathered intelligence, collected tax payments from local villagers, sometimes purchased weapons and apparently made preparations for resuming military operations this summer. But on one patrol, when they entered this village, Najibullah was able to film what seemed to be an unusually large number of young boys. It turned out they were here to be schooled in the local madrassa, but their education apparently went beyond the Koran. Many of the young boys had machine guns. Despite not being allowed to film the young boys, Najibullah was still able to take several still photos of the child soldiers. Watch the full program at Frontline. Quotes "He or his guys, none of them say that they are al-Qaida, but they are saying: We are following Osama bin Laden. We are his men." Najibullah Quraishi Warm Up Questions 1.What is a militant? 2.What is the role of a journalist? 3.What are child soldiers? Discussion Questions 1.Why do you think Osama bin Laden is so popular amongst militants? 2.What do you know about child soldiers? What do you think is the appropriate age for a person to join the military? 3.Sometimes journalists have to risk their lives to tell a story. If you were a journalist how would you ensure your safety while on assignment? Additional Resources Video transcript Download this Video