Iraqi Officials Claim Islamic State Kidnapped 500 Boys to Become Suicide Bombers

The Islamic State terror group has reportedly kidnapped over 500 Iraqi boys to be trained as suicide bombers, Iraqi government officials announced this week.

Farhan Mohammed, an official with the local Anbar provice, recently told a Turkish media outlet that the 500 young boys had been kidnapped from the cities of Ar Rutba, Al-Qaim, Anah and Rawa.

"[The Islamic State] has kidnapped at least 400 children in the western province of Anbar, and taken them to their bases in Iraq, and Syria," he recently told the Turkish media outlet Anadolu.

Lieutenant General Kasim al-Saidi, an official from the Diyala province, added that 100 young boys were kidnapped from his area and were likely to be brainwashed into becoming suicide bombers.

"[The Islamic State] has recruited about 100 children under the age of 16," Al-Saidi said. "They are going to brainwash these kids into being suicide bombers."

Recently, a cell phone video released to the public allegedly shows a Syrian boy being tortured by the Islamic State.

The video, allegedly filmed by an Islamic State defector, shows the 14-year-old boy being beaten as he hangs by his wrists.

This week, the Islamic State advanced further into Syria's Aleppo region, reportedly battling with rebel fighters near the country's border with Turkey.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the advancement of the Islamic State in Syria has caused some locals to question the dependability of the U.S. in the fight against the terrorist group.

"The dependability and seriousness of the West is questionable," Ahmad Qura Ali, spokesman for the Aleppo-based Ahrar Al Sham faction, said in a statement.