IS sells Iraqi children as sex slaves

Islamic State militants are selling abducted Iraqi children at markets as sex slaves, and killing other youths, including by crucifixion or burying them alive, a UN watchdog said.

Iraqi boys aged under 18 are increasingly being used by the militant group as suicide bombers, bomb makers, informants or human shields to protect facilities against US-led air strikes, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said.

“We are really deeply concerned at torture and murder of those children, especially those belonging to minorities, but not only from minorities,” committee expert Renate Winter told a news briefing. “The scope of the problem is huge.

“There was a video placed [online] that showed children at a very young age, approximately eight years and younger, to be trained already to become child soldiers.”

Meanwhile, Jordanian fighter jets have carried out new air strikes on IS, the military said, a day after the country’s king vowed to wage a “harsh” war against the militants.

On Tuesday, the group released a video showing a captured Jordanian pilot being burned alive. Last week, IS beheaded Japanese journalist Kenji Goto