Nearly 300 children in Iraq kidnapped, recruited by IS: UNICEF

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The UN on Thursday warned that Iraqi children are being recruited by Islamic State (IS) militants to defend their foothold in the country.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) pointed to the extremist group’s “brutal tactics” of using child soldiers in one of the most vicious wars in history.

“Across Iraq, children continue to witness sheer horror and unimaginable violence,” UNICEF representative in Iraq Peter Hawkins said in a statement.

“They have been killed, injured, abducted, and forced to shoot and kill in one of the most brutal wars in recent history,” Hawkins added.

According to the UNICEF representative, IS militants intentionally target and murder children in Mosul to chastise families and deter them from escaping.

“They are using children as a weapon of war to prevent people from fleeing,” the statement noted. “This just highlights how indiscriminate and catastrophic this war is.”

The report revealed that 1,075 Iraqi children had been killed and 1,130 wounded since IS’ 2014 emergence in the country.

“Over the past six months alone, 152 children were killed and 255 others injured,” the report added.

UNICEF also mentioned the insurgent group had recruited at least 231 children under the age of 18 who have been forced to participate in the war.

“The country’s future security and economic strength is determined by what is happening to its children today,” UNICEF said, emphasizing the issue.

Iraqi forces launched an offensive in October 2016 to recapture Mosul, IS’ last remaining stronghold in the country.

The troops, backed by US-led coalition air strikes, have made significant gains and are close to defeating the militant group.

Editing by G. H. Renaud