ISIS chainsaws 9 Iraqi youths in half in Mosul

Jardine Malado Friday, September 02, 2016

Nine teenagers were cut in half with a chainsaw by the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) terrorist group. The youths were sentenced to death upon accusations of joining an anti-resistance group in Mosul, Iraq.

"The death sentence pronounced by ISIS sharia court stated that the men should be tied to an iron pole in the center of Tal Afar Square in Mosul and then sliced into two with an electric chainsaw," a source told Iraqi News.

Displaced children, who fled from the Islamic State violence, are seen at Debaga Camp in the Makhmour area near Mosul, Iraq, August 30, 2016. | REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently issued a report that the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a state-sponsored paramilitary organization, is recruiting children as young as 12 to fight ISIS. In a separate report, witnesses told HRW that at least seven children from the Debaga camp were recruited on Aug. 14 and taken to Mosul for preparations.

ISIS has also been known to recruit children. In July 2015, HRW reported the case of two Iraqi kids who escaped from a camp where children as young as 14 receive military training.

The Violations Documenting Center in Syria documented 194 deaths of "non-civilian" male children between September 2011 and June 2014.

According to HRW, non-state armed groups recruit children under the guise of providing education. Children who join the groups were allegedly given weapons training and ordered to carry out dangerous tasks. Leaders also reportedly encourage young recruits to go on suicide bombing missions.

HRW called on all armed groups in Syria to make a commitment to forbid the recruitment of men under the age of 18. "Governments and individuals providing aid to Syrian armed groups should review these groups' policies on child recruitment and urge them to ban the use of children, and to verify recruits' ages," said HRW in a statement.

Bill Van Esveld, a senior children's rights researcher, implored the Iraqi government to pay attention to the recruitment of children in the Mosul operation. "The government and its foreign allies need to take action now, or children are going to be fighting on both sides in Mosul," he said.