Kabul , Afghanistan ( CNN ) -- An 8 year-old boy was hanged by militants in Afghanistan 's Helmand province after the boy 's father -- a police officer in the southern city of Gereshk -- refused to comply with militants ' demands to provide them with a police vehicle , officials said . Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the hanging , saying `` this action is not permitted in any culture or any religions , '' according to a statement Sunday , which provided details of the incident . Karzai said he has ordered local authorities to root out the militants and arrest them `` as soon as possible . '' The boy was kidnapped Friday . It was unclear when he was killed . The incident comes amid a recent wave of attacks on local officials who are considered anti-Taliban . Less than two weeks ago , Ahmed Wali Karzai , Karzai 's half-brother and a provincial council chief in neighboring Kandahar , was killed in his home by a longtime bodyguard . Elsewhere on Sunday , formal ceremonies marking the handover of security to Afghan forces took place in Kabul and Panjshir province . They are the fifth and sixth areas to be transferred to national forces . Last week , the capital of Helmand province -- Lashkar Gah -- was transferred to local control as NATO begins a drawdown of troops . The area was a scene of heavy fighting and stiff resistance last year as a coalition `` surge '' swept southward in an effort to drive Taliban forces from their traditional heartland .
The boy 's father , a police officer , refused to provide militants with a police vehicle . The boy was kidnapped Friday . The capital of Helmand province was transferred to local control last week .