Iraqi security forces have arrested four children who were recruited by al Qaeda to carry out suicide attacks in and around the northern city of Kirkuk, an army general told AFP on Sunday. "Special forces units have arrested an organisation of children consisting of four individuals under the age of 14 who call themselves the 'Birds of Paradise'," General Abdelamir al-Zaidi said.
"The group relies on children and is connected to al Qaeda. It works to recruit children and young people to carry out suicide attacks and to aid the terrorist groups in detonating roadside bombs," he said.
The name of the group likely comes from the traditional Islamic belief that when children die they become birds in paradise. The children were arrested west of Kirkuk, the main oil hub in northern Iraq that is the subject of a long-standing dispute between Baghdad and the autonomous Kurdish region and has seen several recent attacks.