BAGHDAD — In the steamy Baghdad night, sweat poured down the faces of the Iraqi teens as they marched around a school courtyard, training for battle against the Islamic State group. This is summer camp in Iraq, set up by the country’s largest paramilitary force after Iraq’s top Shiite cleric issued an edict calling on students as young as middle-school age to use their summer vacations to prepare to fight the Sunni extremists. Dressed in military fatigues, 15-year-old Asam Riad was among the dozens of youths doing high-knee marches, his chest puffed out to try to appear as tall as the older cadets. “We’ve been called to defend the nation,” the scrawny boy asserted, his voice cracking as he vowed to join the Popular Mobilization Forces, the government-sanctioned umbrella group of mostly Shiite militias. “I am not scared because my brothers are fighting alongside me.” With dozens of such camps around the country, hundreds of students have gone through the training though it is impossible to say how many went on to fight the Sunni extremists since those who do so go independently. This summer, The Associated Press saw over a dozen armed boys on the front line in western Anbar province, including some as young as 10.
Similar Stories to Iraq Has A Summer Camp That Trains Shiite Boys To Fight Isis on Bing News
Tara John, Time
Tue, 07/28/2015 - 4:53am
Topics: dressed asam riad we ve the associated press syrian kurdish jaafar osama god u.s u.s u.s soldiers prevention act u.s u.s u.s ayatollah ali basra september ap but marjaiyah we neighborhood ramadan earlier fallujah ali ahsan carrying ak-47 s it s february in june united nations u.s state department trafficking persons syria donatella rovera amnesty international s u.n convention if saddam hussein saddam s fadayeen saddam s baathist the u.n jo becker governments of baghdad baghdad iraq islamic state i shiite we popular mobilization forces i a it s kurdish sunni human rights watch is u.s iran child ap june but anbar hussein ali rights boys summer camp group young battle combat country front war age month year school underage armed western called camps cadets support umbrella older top hundreds dozens response spokesman enforced brutal set brothers fathers students prepare youths report spoke holy north volunteer groups streets army loyal law
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