The number of children fighting on behalf of ISIS has skyrocketed in the past years, with hundreds having been found on the battlefield and others being used as executioners for the radical terror group, according to a new report authored by the United Nations.
U.N. officials have verified that hundreds of children kidnapped and recruited by ISIS have been found on the battlefield after being trained in fighting centers set up in war torn Syria and other locales, according to the latest report.
In some cases, children as young as seven years old have been fighting on the battlefield, marking a "significant increase" over previous years, according to the U.N. report, which discloses evidence of video footage showing children executioners killing on ISIS's behalf.
The report shines a spotlight on the growing exploitation of children by radical terror groups, including ISIS, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and others, as they wage war in hotspots across the globe.
The number of children warriors is likely much higher than reported due to difficulties tracking these radical organizations and keeping proper records about their recruitment efforts.
"In 2015 alone, the United Nations verified 274 cases of children having been recruited by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Syrian Arab Republic," according to the report. "The United Nations verified the existence of centres in rural Aleppo, Dayr al-Zawr and rural Raqqah that provided military training to at least 124 boys between 10 and 15 years of age."
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