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ISIS converted town church into a training center for child soldiers

A damaged Church of the Immaculate Conception after Iraqi forces recaptured it from Islamic State is seen in Qaraqosh, near Mosul, Iraq, December 9, 2016. | Reuters/Ammar Awad

The Islamic State has converted a church in the Christian town of Tel Kiaf, into a military base, where the Caliphate's children are trained before they are sent out into the battlefield.

An eyewitness told Rudaw that the terror group changed the name of the Sacred Heart church to "Abu Talha Al-Ansari" and used it to train child soldiers. Children as young as 15 are brought into the church to undergo training sessions, lasting from 15 to 20 days.

"ISIS had turned this church into the Abu-Talha Al-Ansari headquarter. They knew that the warplanes wouldn't bomb churches. ISIS turned this church into their headquarters. They were bringing children from Mosul secretly to this church," said the eyewitness.

"They were taking kids to mosque to pledge allegiance to the caliphate. Then they brought them to this church for training, before taking them to the battlefield. Most of them were kids, saying that they were going to heaven. You know, children are not that thoughtful," a resident recounted.

ISIS has been defeated in Tel Kaif, but the church still bears the scars of war. Other churches in the town have been destroyed and burnt.

In the city of Qaraqosh, Christians have found their churches desecrated by the jihadists. The Church of the Immaculate Conception has been turned by the militant group into a shooting range and beheaded its statues.

Another church in the city has been turned into an improvised bomb factory, where hundreds of bombs and grenades were found. Chemicals have also been found in the building, along with instructions on how to mix them into explosives.

Fr. Sharbil Eeso, a 72-year-old Syrian Catholic priest, said that they are not yet allowed to clean up the mess because the damage has to be carefully assessed and documented.

The priest stated that security measures are still needed, and the clean up can only start when the city is safe. He noted that last week, a jihadist emerged from the tunnel built by ISIS underneath the city. "The army immediately shot and killed him: it was a 13-year-old boy," he said.