(Daily Beast) — ISIS is deploying children as fighters and on suicide missions at far greater rates than previously estimated, according to a new report published in the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point’s CTC Sentinel.
At least 89 boys died fighting in the name of ISIS from January 2015 to January 2016, according to the report’s authors, three terrorism researchers from Georgia State University. The researchers analyzed photographs published alongside eulogies and found that some of the children were younger than 12 years old.
The terrorism researchers cataloged the images, obtained largely from Twitter obituaries and ISIS’s official Telegram channel, based on 24 variables including nationality, location of death, and the facial expression in the photos used to publicize the child soldiers’ missions. The researchers then went through each photo and determined which pre-set age category—8 to 12, 12 to 16, or 16 to 18—the child fell into.
Become a Christian News Network Supporter...
Dear Reader, has ChristianNews.net been of benefit and a blessing to you? For many years now, the Lord has seen fit to use this small news outlet as a strong influential resource in keeping Christians informed on current events from a Biblical worldview. With much compromise and many falsehoods in modern-day Christianity, we strive to bring you the news by keeping Christ and His word in focus. If you have benefited from our news coverage, please prayerfully consider becoming a Christian News supporter by clicking here to make a one-time or monthly donation to help keep the truth of God's word widely and freely published and distributed. May Christ continue to be exalted through this work!
