As ISIL militants lose more ground in Iraq and Syria, the terrorist organization appears to be resorting to desperate measures. Unfortunately central to these tactics are children.

CCTV’s Michal Bardavid reports on the child suicide bombers of ISIL.Follow Michal Bardavid on Twitter @michal_bardavid

Iraq is all too familiar with terrorism, the country is rocked by the sound of explosions so often, and some don’t even make global headlines anymore. And now with ISIL on the downfall, the terrorist organization has started to use child bombers more frequently.

In this city of Kirkuk, police recently prevented a suicide bomber, a teenage, before he detonated his explosives. Officers of the suburban Kirkuk police force were the ones who caught him.

“The video of this child being captured by police and being arrested, we believe it might have an impact on children or others who think of blowing themselves up might deter them,” Suburban Kirkuk Chief Police, Sarhad Qadir Muhamad said.

Officials believe this kid was drugged before he was sent on the suicide mission. Courts are yet to decide his fate. These children are kidnapped, brainwashed or forced to take part in abusive radicalized training.

They have become vulnerability in security, as people often don’t perceive children as suspects.

“They are just kids, one of them was 13 years old, which is so young. I believe if this child came through any checkpoint no one would stop him because no one would believe a child at this age would have been brainwashed and tricked in this way,” Kirkuk Provincial Consul, Mamosta Muhamad Kamal said.

One other liability within Iraqi security is lack of high-tech security equipment.

“We don’t have much technology to protect the checkpoints; we need new devices, X-rays and checking devices for TNT and other explosive materials,” Kamal said.

Due to ISIL’s strategic move to mobilize brainwashed children as suicide bombers in Iraq and with the possibility that a teenager may have carried out the latest bombing in Gaziantep Turkey as well, many police forces are on higher alert for ISIL’s latest weapon of terror, child-suicide bombers.

For more on this issue, CCTV talked to Brooke Goldstein, human’s rights attorney and founder and director of Children’s Right’s Institute.

Using children as weapons of terror

The ISIL suicide bomber who killed at least 51 at a Turkish wedding, was as young as 12. Turning children into weapons of terror is a long practice not limited to ISIL. Here are a few examples. [WA…