ISIS-affiliated accounts on social media confirmed claims that the group is training child soldiers on Wednesday, after a video began circulating on Twitter showing children in ISIS garb being trained for combat, beaten by their instructor and taught how to shoot.
A self-professed ISIS fighter known as Qa'qa al-Baritani
who claims to currently be in Raqqa, having travelled from Britain to
fight with the Islamic State writing on Wednesday “Yes,
Dawlatul-Islāmiyyah (Islamic State) is training children. Watch and
learn. ;)”
“We are the army of the Khilāfah and our opposition is the
camp of disbelief. Where do you stand in this war? There is no camp
in-between,” he added.
The video features footage of boys around the age of ten
lined up to receive “training” from their instructor who delivers a
series of punches and kicks to each pupil, as well as breaking sticks
over their heads, forcing them to assume the press up position and
kicking them in the stomach.
The video, entitled the Blood of Jihad 2 is one of the more
striking examples of ISIS’s indoctrination campaign, according to
Charlie Winter, researcher for anti-radicalisation thinktank the
Quilliam Foundation.
“Islamic State and ISIS before it have shown they have kids
in ideological camps before and there has been evidence that this has
included military training. However I have never seen footage like kids
being kicked in the stomach by their instructors [before],” Winter says.
#IslamicState
#Damascus PIO offers
[Report] for camp "Cubs of Caliphate"
http://t.co/QpRcV1Jq4Y pic.twitter.com/aSVYvQ2bzG
— » Jihad News « (@FlamesOfWar1) December 6, 2014
According to Winter, ISIS’s open admission of training child soldiers could partly be a diversion tactic to put focus on children’s rights abuses and divert attention from more strategically important ISIS camps where adult fighters are trained.
“They talk about child soldiers with pride in the Islamic State. They know it will outrage Westerners,” Winter says.
“Another important aspect of releasing footage like this is
that ISIS are saying ‘look at how powerful we are. we are able to start
our indoctrination at a young age!’”
“It plays into the whole pseudo state image they are trying
to promote. They are saying they have an administration. They are
trying to show that the Islamic State is going to be around for a
while.”
On Saturday ISIS social media accounts put up a total of
six photographs showing children armed and equipped for combat, called
the ‘Cubs of the Caliphate’.
Meanwhile ISIS’s online propaganda strategy has been criticised by
the leader of the Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda, an Islamist group ISIS has
an ambiguous relationship with.
Nasr bin Ali al-Ansi issued footage of a 43-minute
interview today where he took issue particularly with ISIS’s method of
gaining publicity by beheading captives.
This seems to be a change of heart after the group released
a video showing the beheading of British-American photographer Luke
Somers at the weekend.
“No doubt, some of our brothers were affected by seeing
scenes of beheadings that were spread recently. We do not accept and we
strongly reject them,” al-Ansi said.
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