A source from the NATO-led security force, ISAF, has told Fairfax that witnesses saw a child detonate the bomb in the suicide attack that injured an Australian aid worker in Afghanistan's Oruzgan Province.
The aid worker has been identified as forty-nine-year-old David Savage, a former Australian Federal Police agent.
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Deputy Commander Colonel Ben James told the Sydney Morning Herald that members of the US patrol accompanying Mr Savage saw a child run towards them before a bomb he was carrying went off.
"It appears that the patrol was approached by an Afghan civilian estimated to be about 12 years old. The boy came into the middle of the patrol and detonated the device," Colonel James said.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith declined to confirm reports the Taliban may have been using a child as a suicide bomber, promising further investigation into the incident.
"The use of children in such matters, if that has occurred in this instance, is contemptible," he told ABC Radio on Wednesday
"We've seen the Taliban use children in the past and we treat that with nothing but contempt."
Mr Smith said it was too early to make an assessment that the Australian was targeted, a claim reportedly made by the Taliban.
Mr Smith later told reporters in Sydney that Mr Savage was in a satisfactory condition.
There will be an automatic review of security arrangements provided by coalition forces.
SAVAGE COMMITTED TO 'HELPING PEOPLE IN NEED'
In a statement issued by AusAID on Tuesday night, Mr Savage's family said he was working with AusAID in Afghanistan's Oruzgan Province helping local communities to rebuild and take control of their lives.
"David's career as a member of the AFP, a UN peacekeeper and now a member of the Australian Civilian Corps is an indication of his strong commitment to helping people in need," the statement said.
It further read: "That he should be injured while trying to help people is a difficult thing for us to understand. We would like to thank everyone for their well wishes.
"We would like to now concentrate on helping David in his recovery."
TALIBAN REPORTEDLY CLAIMS RESPONSIBILTY
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack which killed three NATO soldiers and injured an Afghan National Army soldier, Fairfax reports.
A Taliban spokesman says the attack was direct retaliation after US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales killed 17 Afghans, including nine children in mid March, Fairfax reports.
Bales was charged with 17 premeditated murders as well as six counts of assault and attempted murder in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province.
The killings - mostly of women and children - are believed to be the deadliest war crime by a NATO soldier during the decade-long conflict and have tested an already tense relationship between Washington and Kabul to the limit.
AusAID said Mr Savage was leaving a community meeting in the Chora Valley, north of Tarin Kowt, when the attack occurred.
He had been accompanied by International Security Assistance Force soldiers, standard procedure for the movement of aid and other officials outside the Tarin Kowt base.
No other Australians were present.
Mr Savage, who reportedly comes from Canberra, was treated in Tarin Kowt and then transferred to the medical facility at Kandahar for more advanced treatment.
It's now believed he's on his way to Germany for further treatment.
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