ISIS Training Child Soldiers as Young as 5 to Carry Out Fatal Acts of Terror
Terror group ISIS has released a new video of one of its training camps in Syria, where children seemingly as young as 5 are seen performing drills and obeying the militants' commands.
The Daily Mail noted that the 9-minute video of the Farouk Institute for Cubs in Raqqa, Syria, is one of numerous propaganda materials the terror group has released displaying its influence over youths.
In the video, the young boys, all wearing camouflage uniforms, are performing drills as instructed by a militant teacher. The teacher shouts questions at the children, who shout back in unison.
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The children are also seen reciting Islamic prayers while bowing to the ground.
The U.S. and a broad coalition of allies has been actively engaged against the terror group, which has captured a number of cities across Iraq and Syria. ISIS, which refers to itself as the "Islamic State," is seeking to expand its territory and establish an Islamic caliphate on the region.
The jihadists have also in the past released photos of 10-year-old children being trained to use assault rifles and kill people. ISIS has reportedly been using child soldiers in its many battles for territory across Iraq and Syria.
An Iraqi security official, who wasn't named, shared some of the tactics ISIS employs on young children with NBC News.
"They teach them how to use AK-47s," the official said. "They use dolls to teach them how to behead people, then they make them watch a beheading, and sometimes they force them to carry the heads in order to cast the fear away from their hearts."
The United Nations Human Rights Council has spoken out against the operations of such youth camps, which violate international law that prohibits children from being used in war.
"The existence of such camps seems to indicate that ISIS systematically provides weapons training for children," the U.N. has said. "Subsequently, they were deployed in active combat during military operations, including suicide-bombing missions."
Ryan Mauro, a national security analyst for the Clarion Project, said that such camps are held in high regard among ISIS supporters.
"If you believe the ISIS caliphate is the best place to be and Allah commands you to go there, you'd want your family there, too," Mauro said, according to Fox News. "For ISIS supporters, this is like signing your kid up for the best private school."
