Lion Cubs


The Cubs of the Caliphate refers to a programme by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to recruit and train child soldiers between the ages of 10 and 15.

Overview

According to a report by the magazine Foreign Policy, children as young as six are recruited or kidnapped and sent to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's military and religious training camps, where they practice beheading with dolls and are indoctrinated with the religious views of ISIL. Children are used as human shields on the front lines and to provide blood transfusions for Islamic State soldiers, according to Shelly Whitman of the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative. The second installment of a Vice News documentary about ISIL focused on how the group is specifically grooming children for the future. A spokesman told VICE News that those under the age of 15 go to sharia camp to learn about religion, while those older than 16 can go to military training camp. Children are also used for propaganda. According to a UN report, "In mid-August, ISIL entered a cancer hospital in Mosul, forced at least two sick children to hold the ISIL flag and posted the pictures on the internet." Misty Buswell, a Save the Children representative working with refugees in Jordan, said, "It's not an exaggeration to say we could lose a whole generation of children to trauma."
On November 2014, the ISIS released a propaganda video showing children from Kazakhstan being trained with firearms. The video showed the steps of the boys’ training and emphasized the “holy-warrior” image of ISIS by showing the boys recite the verses from the Quran and declaring war against the “unbelievers.”—"I will be the one who slaughters you, O kuffar. I will be a mujahid, insha'Allah ”. After the video had been released, the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan stated that at least 300 Kazakh citizens have moved to Syria to join the ISIS. Most were from underdeveloped villages and women were included in that number as well.

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