Al-Qaeda takes back their sons from Iraq

Dozens of children born to al-Qaeda militants in Iraq are now being ‘kidnapped’ by their fathers to be raised as the next generation al-Qaeda fighters, the UAE-based The National Reports.

Mothers of these children were forced into these marriages and were presented as ‘gifts’ to al-Qaeda militants when pro-Qaeda and anti-U.S. sentiments swept Iraq’s Sunni heartland provinces of Anbar, Mosul and Diyala after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion on Iraq.

There are no exact figures for the number of the abducted children, but through Noor, a non-government organization that is providing help to hundreds of these women give an estimate of at least 50 missing infant boys.

“We have reports that many of these children are disappearing and that al-Qaeda wants to bring them up as a new generation that will be indoctrinated from birth and will be extremely loyal to its cause,” said Dr. Jamil Dawar, a Noor official.

“I believe that is al-Qaeda’s purpose, and it is a huge problem. It is not just a problem for these children and their mothers. It is a problem for Iraq, and the entire international community. Something must be done.”

Boys are taken and never the girls

Jahida Mohammad, 41, was forced to marry a Saudi militant in 2004 and gave birth to twin boys a year later.

“At the time my whole region was supporting al-Qaeda and I was forced by my family to marry that Saudi,” said Mrs Mohammad from Anbar, who is being helped by Noor.

She added that her husband spent little time at home, but in 2007 he came to their house, took the two-year-old boys and left.

She has neither seen nor heard from them since.

“He was always talking about the boys being for al-Qaeda; he said they were not for us but for al-Qaeda,” she said.

“When they disappeared, I knew he had taken them for that. He wants to raise them for that purpose; he was fascinated with the idea.”

“It is always boys. Girls are never taken,” Dr. Dawar added.

Social stigma

The women are considered prostitutes and the children illegitimate, with no legal rights and documents to mark their presence since the marriages were never authorized under Iraqi civil law.

The Iraqi government abhors anyone and anything related to al-Qaeda and did not put any effort to recognize the children’s citizenships.

Most of al-Qaeda militants are believed to be Iraqis and not foreigners, but the problem exacerbated when militants arrived in Iraq from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Yemen, Egypt, Afghanistan and elsewhere to fight U.S. forces after the U.S. invasion.

Noor was founded last in 2009 and has registered more than 250 women and 400 children and believes many more al-Qaeda wives remain unregistered. It lobbies the government on their behalf, arguing the women and children are victims of al-Qaeda and should be given legal rights and assistance.

“I was just married to make children for al Qa’eda,” said Mrs Mohammad.

Since 2003, many of the foreign al-Qaeda fighters were killed or captured, leaving behind scores of widows and, in numerous instances, children who are now being seen as social outcasts.