Video found shows al-Qaeda training boys to kidnap and kill
A video found by U.S. troops shows al-Qaeda training children to kidnap and kill civilians in Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi officials said, according to the New York Times.
The tape was found in December by U.S. troops during a raid in Khan Bani Saad, northeast of Baghdad. It showed that al-Qaeda was using children in terrorist attacks, said American military officials.
The video is believed by American intelligence officials to be a propaganda tape made by al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia. It may be used in training young boys to become members of the terrorist group. In it, several violent scenarios are acted out, including one of young boys holding guns to an unarmed man on a bicycle, saying, "Put your hands behind your head." New York Times.
The adult victims were most likely acted by the children's parents or other relatives, according to military officials. It is believed that the tapes are used in early training sessions with children in "the process of indoctrination and training that starts early to ensure they grow up to become future terrorists when they become of age," Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, an American spokesman, said. Union Tribune