Child kills Alleged Spy In Latest Islamic State Show Of Force
DAMASCUS, Syria, March 10 (UPI) — The group calling itself the Islamic State is turning to children to deliver its bloody message — and its latest execution video may be the one of the most most disturbing yet.
The video, the latest in a long string of garish footage, was posted online Tuesday via IS-connected social channels — and depicts a young child executing a man the group claims was an Israeli spy.
The victim was identified by IS as Mohamed Sa’id Ismail Musallam, a 19-year-old Israeli citizen of Arab descent — who the group claims was an intelligence agent. Musallam’s family has previously denied he was involved in the Israeli intelligence service Mossad, CNN reported.
In the video, the man purported to be Musallam is kneeling on the ground as an adult militant and a young boy stand behind him. The adult commands the child to kill the man with a gunshot to the forehead. The child then shoots the man twice more on the ground.
This incident, however, isn’t the first to feature children engaging in terrorist activities. In January, a similar video was released that showed a boy shoot two men in the head.
Tuesday’s video, along with other methods involving children, sparked further global outrage at the group’s apparent willingness to utilize anyone, regardless of age.
Human Rights Watch said the Islamic State is employing a wide array of tactics to use children to fight for them.
“[Militants] have specifically recruited children through free schooling campaigns that include weapons training and have given them dangerous tasks, including suicide bombing missions,” the rights group says.
IS is making child education and training hallmarks of an insurance strategy designed to sustain its caliphate for future generations. Various media have reported intensive training camps, classroom instruction on the Koran and even weapons proficiency.
Using children under age 18 to fight is a war crime and a recent study has indicated that children who endure such experiences are inflicted with a great deal of psychological damage. The study found that one-third of 300 former Ugandan child soldiers exhibited symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder — and two-thirds subsequently experienced severe emotional and behavioral trauma and depression.
Not all children recruited for terror activities tow the group’s hard line, however. In December, a 14-year-old boy went to Iraqi police after he had been strapped with a bomb and sent on a suicide mission. Authorities were able to free him from the device.
