CHILDREN RECRUITED TO ATTACK AMERICAN TROOPS IN IRAQ

Young children fight U.S. troops in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Shiite militias are encouraging children — some as young as 6 or 7 — to hurl stones and gasoline bombs at U.S. convoys, hoping to lure American troops into ambushes or provoke them into shooting back, U.S. soldiers say.

Gangs of up to 100 children assemble in Sadr City, stronghold of radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army militia, and in nearby neighborhoods, U.S. officers said in interviews this week.

American soldiers have seen young men, their faces covered by bandanas, talking with the children before the rock-throwing attacks begin — and sometimes handing out slingshots so the volleys will be more accurate, the troops said.

"It's like a militia operation. They'll mass rocks on the last or second-to-last vehicle" in a U.S. patrol, said Capt. Chris L'Heureux, 30, of Woonsocket, R.I. "There's no doubt in my mind that they're utilizing these kids in a deliberate, thought-out way."

Al-Sadr's followers insist they are not organizing attacks by children.

"Such behavior by Iraqi children is spontaneous and the natural reaction from innocent children who are witnessing horrible deeds committed by the occupation forces in
Iraq" Ali al-Yassiri, an aide to al-Sadr, told The Associated Press.

Militants have used children before. Marines in the volatile city of Ramadi say Sunni Arab insurgents often send children to check out U.S. defenses or warn of approaching patrols. And Israeli troops have long faced stone-throwing Palestinian kids.

But the increased use of children in the high-profile Baghdad battle poses a new challenge to American troops seeking to curb Iraqi militias. The tactic also shows the lengths to which militants will go in confronting U.S. troops in a high-stakes fight for control of the capital.

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This story comes to you via JihadWatch.org...

When are we going to leave Iraq or are we going to continue wasting blood & treasure on these barbarians?!?

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1) Young children fight U.S. troops in Iraq

2) JihadWatch.org