ISIS Trains Tribal Children To Be Future Bombers: Iraqi Leader

An Iraqi tribal leader has accused Islamic State militants of recruiting children for bombing purposes. The leader also said Tuesday that ISIS forces had been quite active in the al-Anbar province to recruit local children for training them to be future bombers.

Sheikh Khalid Awad al-Shabani talked to Rudaw, a local newspaper, saying ISIS militants had entered several areas in the Iraqi province and began recruiting local tribal children. He added that ISIS had started training camps in the Iraqi district of Heet and in the Syrian province of Raqqah.

Shabani asserted ISIS is fabricating Islam for its selfish interests. “We all know that extremist ideology of ISIS (ISIL) is not related to Islam,” Press TV quoted Shabani. “They make up verses that do not exist in the [holy] Qur'an.”

Shabani added that the militant group was brainwashing children in its training camps and turning them against civilians and military checkpoints. He said that the Iraqi government must use all its power to stop the recruitment of children.

Shabani added that the government should talk to parents to involve them in the resistance process.

According to Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, ISIS conducts “organized recruitment for children in 100 countries.” He also said in June that it was a “heinous crime” to involve children in murders.

Kurdistan Democrat Party spokesman Saeed Mamuzini said that the abducted children were ages 10-15. He also said that ISIS terrorists had arrested 78 men for protesting against the abduction of the children. According to the spokesman, ISIS has abducted at least 1,420 children since the terrorist organization captured the city of Mosul more than a year back.

A video released by ISIS in March showed a child soldier killing a man alleged to be an Israeli spy. This was the first time an ISIS video had a child soldier performing an execution on camera. Another ISIS video in June showed cage fights between child soldiers.