Islamic State Training Five-Year-Olds in 'Terror Schools'

Islamic State Training Five-Year-Olds in 'Terror Schools'
Nick Hallett

The self-proclaimed Islamic State is teaching children as young as five to become soldiers and suicide bombers in ‘terror schools’, an anti-ISIS campaign group has revealed.

‘Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently’ has posted images showing children brandishing assault rifles, training on assault courses and posing with and saluting the Islamic State flag. The group says that more than 300 children have been kidnapped or sent by their parents to special training camps at al-Sharea school in Raqqa, the de facto Islamic State capital.

The Express reports that the children are repeatedly asked whether they want to be jihadi fighters or suicide bombers, and forced to repeat calls for the killing of Western infidels. Some have already joined the fighting against Kurdish forces in the border town of Kobane, with at least 30 killed this month, including a teenage suicide bomber.

A spokesman for Raqqa Is Being Silently Slaughtered told the Sun: “The recruitment camps have been established by Isis as an attempt to brainwash the minors and promote extremism among the young generations in order to create an army of loyal followers.

“Isis has recently stepped up its youth recruitment, a sort of boot camp for young boys in which they are taught combat skills.”

“The group persuades parents to send their kids in exchange for sums of money, taking advantage of their need, in the midst of dire living conditions and widespread poverty,” he added.

“However, not all youth recruitment carried out by IS is voluntary. In some cases young boys are taken to boot camps without parental consent.”

Sources claim the boys are recruited at mosques and taken to various training camps for an intense 45-day course, after which they are given combat training for a month. Many go straight to the front line, but others guard checkpoints.

The spokesman said: “Many of these boys are time bombs waiting to go off.”

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