Groups use children as weapons, putting them on front lines

The suicide attacker who detonated his explosives amid an outdoor Kurdish wedding party in Turkey, killing at least 54 people, was an Islamic State group child as young as 12 years old. The group has a history of using children as weapons, sending them to their death strapped with explosives and putting them on front lines in Iraq and Syria.

The group maintains an army of child soldiers, which it calls“cubs of the caliphate ”, and seeks to re-educate children at IS-run schools, indoctrinating them with the group’s own radical version of Islam and exposing them to violent acts, including beheadings, as part of a concerted effort to build a new generation of militants. IS videos have shown boys killing IS opponents through beheadings and shootings.

But the practice is not restricted to the IS and has been used by other militant groups. Here’s a look at some:

Islamic State group

The group has deployed child suicide bombers to stage attacks in both Iraq and Syria. Among the most deadly attacks was a bombing at a youth soccer game at a stadium in Baghdad on March 25. A bomber — believed to be a teenager—detonatedhis explosives as officials were handing out trophies to players after the tournament, killing 29 and wounding 60. IS claimed responsibility. Nearly half of those killed were also children. The United Nations’ children’s agency, UNICEF, said thousands of children have been abducted in Iraq. Girls, the group says, are at greatest risk of being sold into sexual slavery while boys are often forced into becoming combatants or suicide bombers.

Boko Haram

UNICEF has reported a dramatic increase in Boko Haram’s use of children as suicide bombers. Earlier this year, UNICEF said one in five suicide attacks claimed by the group across Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad are now carried out by children. In Nigeria, it has recruited hundreds of youngsters since 2009 and used dozens, mostly girls, as suicide bombers.

Al-Qaida

The global terror network has a history of recruiting children and training them to be suicide bombers. The leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, used teenagers as suicide bombers to fight the US occupation in Iraq before he was killed in a US airstrike in 2006. Al-Qaida in Iraq eventually developed into what today is the IS group.

Yemen

In Yemen, home to one of the world’s most heavily armed civilian population, boys often learn how to handle weapons from an early age. In the country’s current conflict, irregular forces from both the pro-government and rebel sides have incorporated teenagers into their ranks.