"Islamic Caliphate" and Efforts to Recruit Children

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that since the beginning of this year, the Islamic State group, known as ISIS, has recruited at least 400 children under the age of 18. This action is part of ISIS's efforts to expand a group it calls "the noble children of the caliphate." According to this report, the officials of this project have adopted a special method to persuade and encourage children to join this organization. Most of these children are those who live near ISIS bases or those who regularly attend schools and mosques. The Islamic State group is also trying to convince families to send their children to the "noble children of the caliphate" bases. Additionally, children with violent behavior and misconduct are specifically targeted by this project. The training courses for recruited children are divided into two categories: "religious and military." The religious course is held to "solidify the group's ideologies." However, in the second course, children are taught how to use weapons, engage in military conflicts, and conduct surprise attacks. The report states that ISIS militants sometimes pay children to recruit them, provide them with weapons, and teach them how to drive. Gathering information by forming a network of informants and protecting the group's bases are among the uses of children. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that a battalion consisting of 140 children under 18 was dispatched to the city of Kobani in northern Syria to participate in conflicts. The decline in the number of volunteers has motivated the recruitment of children. This report points to a decrease in the number of volunteers from Arab and non-Arab countries to join ISIS in the first three months of this year, indicating that the ratio of volunteers during this period is the lowest since the declaration of the "Islamic Caliphate." The use of children in the execution of ISIS prisoners has raised global concerns. Images of these executions have been circulated on social media and in the media. The first execution announced by ISIS this year was carried out by a child. In a video that was released, a child under 10 years old shot two men accused of spying for the Russian intelligence service with a handgun. Shortly after, ISIS released another video in which a child, while shouting "Allahu Akbar," executed a man accused of spying for the Israeli intelligence service. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reported that ISIS has killed some abducted children in Iraq; burning alive or selling children as "slaves" are other actions mentioned in this report. The report also states that ISIS uses children under 18 in suicide attacks, bomb-making, or as human shields against airstrikes by the US-led international coalition. This committee also condemned the "systematic killings of children from religious and ethnic minorities."