Forcing Children to Fight

Da’ish has drafted children into the ‘Caliphate Cubs’ to commit terrorist acts

IRAQI staff LT. GEN. TALIB SHAGHATI ALKENANI

After suffering defeat at the hands of Iraqi and coalition forces and after running out of lies, Da’ish is facing difficulties in finding safe havens for financing or recruitment. Therefore, the group has shifted toward recruiting minors and children, a dirty trick that shows the world the ugliness of terror and its evil intent.

The consequences of recruiting children and involving them in terrorist crimes such as beheading and killing innocents will have horrific consequences and seriously threaten the task of building a violence-free society. Da’ish is systematically brainwashing these children and enrolling them in training to justify terrorist acts. It fabricates interpretations of hadiths and distorts Quranic verses in evil ways to make these children believe that beheadings, bombing public places and killing Muslims who disagree with Da’ish are holy acts that will lead them to paradise.

We first noticed this problem in 2009 in Diyala province in the so-called Youth of Paradise movement, where Da’ish — known then as the Islamic State of Iraq — attempted to recruit children for planting roadside bombs, kidnappings and assassinations. At that time, the terrorists were suffering many serious blows at the hands of counterterrorism forces and tribesmen. We successfully stopped the flow of foreign fighters and dried up their financial network. The terrorists responded by recruiting children in a hopeless attempt to show their sympathizers that they were still capable.

Despite the fact that we halted the attempt, detained the leadership and the recruiting network, and spared many children from the evildoers, we have evidence that a few brainwashed children engaged in terrorist acts between 2009 and 2015. Perhaps some of them carried out suicide attacks or became Da’ish leaders of today. Kidnapping children from behind their school desks or from their mothers’ laps, and leading them down a dark terrorist tunnel to pollute their innocent brains with ugly doctrine will have long-term dangerous ramifications.

Nowadays, we witness widespread efforts by Da’ish in Iraq and Syria to recruit children known as “Caliphate Cubs.” The recruiting operation started in Raqqa, Syria, and later appeared in Iraq, in Mosul and Anbar. Many media and intelligence reports indicate that Da’ish imposed a mandatory draft in Rutba, western Iraq, for children between 10 and 15 years old. The terrorists transfer the children to remote camps far from their parents, and train them to kill, kidnap and commit suicide attacks. Additionally, in Fallujah, hundreds of parents were forced to enroll their children as “Caliphate Cubs.” Da’ish took advantage of the lack of food and services to buy children from the parents for food rations or small amounts of money.

We have information that, in Mosul, 1,300 minors were forced to join Da’ish, which instructed them in carrying out terrorist attacks and brainwashed them to hate and discriminate. The terrorist cowards aimed to use these children as human shields to stop an imminent offensive to liberate the city and as a propaganda piece to raise an outcry about the Iraqi military killing children.

Da’ish’s move to recruit children clearly indicates that it has suffered a severe degradation of manpower, matching the 2009 scenario. However, this time the situation is more dangerous because Da’ish controls highly populated urban centers and has sufficient time to brainwash and use these children to commit crimes. In June 2015, we saw the first mass execution carried out by children in Syria, followed by beheadings and executions in Mosul and Anbar.

Da’ish didn’t stop at deceiving the children of deceased terrorists but went further by forcing residents to enroll their children as “cubs” in return for a $200 gift and promises of other privileges. We are facing a new kind of terror that has treacherous consequences; therefore, we must do what it takes to protect this vital sector of our society and prevent it from falling prey to terror. The process of rehabilitation for the children who already have fallen victim will be tedious, long and will require the combined efforts of governmental and nonprofit organizations. One requirement is opening rehab centers managed by professional sociologists and psychologists who specialize in children and teenagers.

Da’ish turned the towns they invaded into ruins, many families fled their homes, and some children found themselves alone on the streets — orphaned by the terrorists’ violence. Without parents to protect them, these children are vulnerable. The government is trying its best to reach out and protect these children by providing orphanages and shelters, but not enough is being done and we need the international community’s support.

We need to perform site surveys after liberating towns to estimate the number of children recruited by Da’ish and reach out to them. We must work with their parents and view them as victims. Today, I want to advise them as a father who cares about his children’s safety and well-being: Please don’t stain your guiltless hands in innocent blood. I urge them to stop cooperating with terrorists. The road of terrorism has a dark end. They must return to their loved ones and hide out in safety until security forces arrive.

The agencies that specialize in youth development and security must team up to find solutions to this dangerous development. Religious and community leaders must renounce these un-Islamic acts of terrorism and work to protect and educate the young. We are continuously working with other ministries to establish programs to rehabilitate the victims and make sure they do not pose any future threat to society.

Furthermore, we encourage nongovernmental organizations to work with the Ministry of Youth to establish science and sport programs to benefit young citizens and keep them away from the clutches of terror. Protecting our precious children from terrorists is not only the concern of security agencies; it also requires multiple efforts from all government agencies and local citizens, as well as regional and international cooperation. As I have mentioned, the horrendous consequences of recruiting children in 2009 showed up years later. We must work to stop Da’ish before it turns our children into ticking time bombs.