The militant group Islamic State has been using children as suicide bombers, a United Nations representative said late Monday.
Boys aged as young as 13 are used to carry weapons, guard strategic locations and arrest civilians, said Leila Zerrougui, the Secretary-General’s special representative for children and armed conflict, at a meeting of the Security Council in New York.
“Other children are used as suicide bombers,” she said.
Up to 700 children have been killed or maimed in Iraq since the start of the year, according to UN figures. The Islamic State group has proclaimed a caliphate across parts of northern Syria and Iraq.
