ISIL kidnaps 500 children in Iraq’s Anbar, Diyala: Officials

Iraqi local and security authorities say members of the Takfiri terrorist group, ISIL, have abducted 500 children in two provinces of Iraq.

Farhan Mohammed, a member of the Provincial Council in Iraq’s al-Anbar Province, said on Saturday that, in a time span of more than a week, ISIL extremists carried out several raids in the towns of al-Rutbah, al-Qa’im, Anah and Rawa, during which they kidnapped 400 children.

Mohammed added that the abductees have been taken to ISIL bases elsewhere in Iraq and neighboring Syria and are being trained to carry out acts of terror under the terrorist group’s commands.

Meanwhile, the police chief of the eastern province of Diyala, Lieutenant General Kasim al-Saidi, said ISIL militants kidnapped some 100 children in the province to use them as bombers.

A similar move by ISIL took place in April. Back then, ISIL stormed a number of schools in al-Qayyarah, al-Shura, Badoush and al-Baaj neighborhoods of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. About 120 schoolchildren were kidnapped in the city, which is located about 400 kilometers (248 miles) north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and has been under the control of ISIL since June 2014. The fate and whereabouts of the children are unknown.

ISIL terrorists have perpetrated atrocious crimes and terrorized all communities, including Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians during their onslaughts in Iraq.

Units of Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters have been engaged in joint operations to liberate militant-held regions in the country.