A 15-year-old Canadian youth, reportedly tied to al-Qaida, is being held in Afghanistan for the murder of a U.S. Special Forces medic, intelligence sources tell WorldNetDaily.

Reports also said the Toronto-born youth, Omar Al Khadr, was badly injured in action that resulted in the death of the U.S. soldier, and that he is being held at U.S. military headquarters in Bagram, north of the capital city of Kabul.

Sources said the Canadian government is pressuring Washington for the return of its citizen, while the U.S. government is investigating the death of the Special Forces medic as a potential capital crime.

The youth is just now being interrogated regarding the July 28 killing. Injuries sustained in the altercation with the medic had prevented it earlier, sources said.

A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told WorldNetDaily he had no information regarding the incident.

But Reynald Doiron, a spokesman for Canada's foreign ministry, said he had "heard of the incident," though he was unable to track down confirmation of specific details by press time.

Khadr is the son of Ahmed Saeed Khadr, a Canadian citizen whom the U.S. has accused of having direct ties to Osama bin Laden. The Khadr incident could be an embarrassment for Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who once interevened on behalf of the father.

The father was arrested in 1995 in connection with a bomb at the Egyptian embassy in Islamabad. Chretien pressed Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to give him due process in Canada.

In October 2001, the Canadian treasury department ordered the freezing of the elder Khadr's assets. He was running the Afghan operations of a relief group that is said to be a front organization for bin Laden's terrorist network.

Tensions between the two allies flared briefly in April after a U.S. Air National Guard pilot flying an F-16 fighter mistakenly bombed a position held by Canadian troops in Afghanistan, killing four and wounding eight.

U.S. military officials said Maj. Harry Schmidt, of the Illinois Air National Guard, acted in haste when he released his 500-pound bomb on the Canadian position. Lawyers for Schmidt said the officer believed he was under attack when he made his bombing run.

American military officials said Schmidt was briefed that Canadian troops would be training in his area of operation on the day of the bombing.

But defenders of the veteran flier said his long-time active-duty status as an F-18 pilot and instructor at the Navy's "Top Gun" school made it unlikely he simply erred.

Reporter Jon E. Dougherty contributed to this story.

---

Related special offers:

WND strategy: Winning the war on terror

Everyman's guide to war on terror