By Megan Specia From Mashable

Islamic State militants have been grooming children to join the ranks of the extremist group, and new footage posted on Monday offers insights into what this training looks like. The group is training young recruits in a series of camps across northern Iraq and Syria.

The propaganda footage from Islamic State militants purports to show scenes from inside one of these camps, where gun-wielding boys somersault across the floor and build human pyramids while waving the black flag of the extremist group, preparing for a life of jihad.

The video was reportedly taken in the Tal Afar area of northern Iraq, known to be under the control of the Islamic State group since June 2014. It was shared by social media accounts associated with the militants in the Nineveh province, and was anonymously posted to several file-sharing sites.

It is unclear when the footage was taken, and it cannot be confirmed that the training center shown is actually located in Tal Afar. Throughout the video, the young boys can be seen taking part in mock combat exercises while a group of adults look on and appear to instruct them. One of the shots also shows the boys sitting in a classroom.

A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report (PDF) from June 2014 alleged that militants has been training children at camps in Syria and Iraq for some time. The report, based on interviews with four former ISIS child fighters and two adult fighters, as well as civilians in Islamic State-controlled areas, determined that youth recruitment was used to expand ISIS support.

“ISIS has actively recruited children to send to their military training camps, and used them in military operations, including suicide bombing missions,” “ISIS has actively recruited children to send to their military training camps, and used them in military operations, including suicide bombing missions,” the HRW report states. “The four children we interviewed said ISIS recruited them through public forums and ideological tools, rather than through community or family networks.”

In September, photos described as showing “A Tour Inside Shaddad Al-Tounisi Camp for Cubs of the Islamic State” were circulated by accounts associated with the group.

The report continues:

An FSA military commander told Human Rights Watch he captured 30 children between ages 13 and 15 who had fought with ISIS and attempted to rehabilitate them by isolating them in a remote rural location and bringing religious leaders as well as male relatives to speak with them. Researchers interviewed two medical service providers who treated children as young as 12 injured while fighting with ISIS.

U.S. and coalition airstrikes have targeted strategic points in the Tal Afar area of Iraq, where this training camp is said to be located. On Jan. 12, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL artillery system and an ISIL checkpoint near Tal Afar according to a statement from the Combined Joint Task Force responsible for the mission.
IMAGE: Children seen at an Islamic State training camp.
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