Iraqi security officials say they have arrested a cell of al-Qaeda-linked bombers, warning of a new generation of terrorist attacks in the country, reported PressTV.
The group named the 'al-Qaeda Lion Cubs' recruited and trained teenagers to carry out attacks against government forces and civilians, Iraqi army Baghdad spokesman Major General Qassim Atta told reporters on Tuesday.
"The children would carry their IEDs (improvised explosive devices) on bicycles because the army and police wouldn't search them and they could move through alleyways," Atta said.
Six adults involved with recruiting young bombers and training them on the outskirts of Mosul and Baghdad were arrested along with the teenagers on July 26, added the army official, who declined to disclose the identity or the nationality of the terrorists.
Atta said the Wahhabi cell would pay 100,000 dinars ($85) to the teenagers, who volunteered to carry out their attacks out of poverty not because they believed in al-Qaeda's ideals.
According to Iraqi security officials, al-Qaeda favors hiring 'children, widows and the uneducated' to carry out attacks.
In April, Iraqi security forces announced they had arrested four children under the age of 14 in the northern city of Kirkuk. The group, calling itself 'Birds of Paradise', had been recruited by al-Qaeda to carry out suicide attacks.
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