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| Terror Networks |
| Daesh babies: Chilling new trend in the caliphate |
| 2015-07-20 |
| [RFE/RL] The sharing of baby and toddler photos is a disturbing new trend among Daesh recruits who've come from Russia and the Central Asia region. That Daesh militants are having babies in Syria is not surprising, as foreign fighters are are encouraged to marry. Many others brought their children with them to Daesh-controlled territory. But these babies are now being used by their fathers to prove they are "good" jihadis. Militants are sharing pictures of themselves holding their babies or toddlers and calling them "future mujahedin." The trend is particularly fashionable among North Caucasian militants from the Chechen-led Daesh faction Katibat al-Aqsa. One Chechen militant, Mansur Shishani, was photographed in May posing with a toddler named Askhab. Both Mansur and the toddler are holding guns. Another Katibat al-Aqsa militant, Zakaria Kureish, posted an image of his two babies with the caption, "My children are growing up in the caliphate." But it is not only rank-and-file terrorists who have posted such photos. The notorious Tajik militant Nusrat Nazarov (alias Abu Kholidi Kurobi) had a photograph of himself taken wearing military fatigues and a black beret with a Daesh logo, while holding a baby. Nazarov was reported killed in Syria earlier this month. The leader of Katibat al-Aqsa, a Chechen named Abu Umar Grozny, has photographed himself holding his baby daughter dressed in a camouflage-patterned head scarf. These photographs are being used for recruitment purposes. The message is clear, in Daesh-controlled territory, even toddlers are taking up arms and are therefore more "manly" than those who stay at home and refuse to fight. The future for the youngsters shown off in the photographs is bleak. Unless they are killed in fighting, or unless Daesh is dislodged, the male babies will undergo military training and ideological indoctrination from an early age. Unless Daesh is defeated before they are tweens, it will likely recruit them as "caliphate cubs." Daesh continues to use children under 18 as front-line fighters, and even as suicide bombers and to carry out execution-style killings. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #6 Militants are sharing pictures of themselves holding their babies or toddlers and calling them "future mujahedin." Future missionaries. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2015-07-20 18:35 |
| #5 rjs I think ISIS is the least tayiqa using brand of Islamist. I think that is one thing that has made their recruitment efforts far more effective than AlQ or the Taliban, etc. |
| Posted by: lord garth 2015-07-20 17:06 |
| #4 If I read a book about ISIS back in the 80s there is no way I'd have believed this nonsense. Too over the top. Now I wonder if the fine folks we helped fight the Soviets in Afghanistan were more of the same or if we've now developed a newer, sicker brand of Islamist. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2015-07-20 14:21 |
| #3 They are establishing a homeland. What else do you expect them to do? I just hope they keep killing Iranians, Hezbolla, Turks and each other. |
| Posted by: jvalentour 2015-07-20 10:26 |
| #2 perhaps we should cut off the flow of education to the Islamist world. That means saudi arabia, pakistan, any islamist or proto=jihadi is barred from western university education no matter how much money is waved. No Western contractor should go to Saudi to work or train or educate the local rubes. let them discover new tech by themselves |
| Posted by: anon1 2015-07-20 06:37 |
| #1 How long before these Islamic State babies are all starving in famine and we are asked to feed them. some primitive civilisations we should have just denied access to technology. Never sold them weapons or anything tech. Just let them trade their caravans and smile and shake hands and take all our goods with us when we left. Not trade with them, not sell to them. they would still now be fighting with swords and riding camels. |
| Posted by: anon1 2015-07-20 06:35 |