
Rebels with a cause
Al-Qaeda forms a youth group, but campfires and archery are not quite what they have in mind. “Iraq: Al-Qaeda creates teenage terror cell, says report,” from AKI, May 27 :
Baghdad, 27 May (AKI) – A new al-Qaeda cell has been created for Iraqis under 16 years old, according to a report in the pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.
Known as the “Youths of Heaven”, the report said that the cell has been active for some days in various suburbs of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
In an interview with Al-Hayat, Sayd Aziz Salman, the head of the Awakening Council in Taji, north of Baghdad, said that the cell was the latest danger in the country….
“It was a member of this new cell of attackers who hit one of our councils on Monday in Tarimiya,” said Salman.
“The bomber was in a car when he detonated the explosives killing six people and wounding 18. A large number of the suicide attacks that hit our offices are now carried out by al-Qaeda through these young people who have recently been recruited,” he said.
Last week, the military stopped six adolescents who were allegedly part of the “Youths of Heaven”.
“After interrogation, we discovered that the head of the group, who gave them the economic and logistical support, was 16 years-old,” said Salman.
“We found out that they used certain camps outside Taji and Tarimiya for training, with the help of some local farmers.
“Every cell in this new group has five members. In some of these groups, the young people are between 11 and 13 years old,” he said.