(AKI) - The Islamic State of Iraq, the umbrella name adopted by al-Qaeda groups in the country, has released the first video of the group's new teenage terror cell for those under 16 years of age. The video of the terror cell known as "Youths of Heaven" is produced by al-Furqan, the media production arm of the Islamic State of Iraq. The video was aired for the first time on Tuesday on the Arabic satellite television channel Al-Arabiya. It shows a group of young aspiring suicide bombers brandishing Kalashnikovs and promising to blow themselves up against "the crusaders and apostates."| This new al-Qaeda terror cell in Iraq is only open to those under the age of 16. |
In an interview with the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat, Sayd Aziz Salman, the head of the Awakening Council in Taji, north of Baghdad, said that the cell was the latest danger that the country faced. Salman said that after al-Qaeda suffered major losses in battles with the Iraqi military and members of his Awakening Council, the terrorist group had decided to reorganise itself in a bid to target senior leaders from the Awakening Councils. In order to do this, they have formed a cell of aspiring suicide bombers who range in age from 11 to 16 years old. The young suicide bomber featured in the second part of Tuesday's video could be the same one that carried out an attack in the region of Tarimiya on Monday.