Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack that killed at least 11 people and injured 39 others in the Shi’ite district of al-Jadida in eastern Baghdad on Monday, April 25 2016.

March 2, 2015
Anbar, Iraq

Children of the Sunni tribe of Bou Fahed receive weapons and trench-warfare training from community elders in Ramadi, al-Anbar province, Iraq in order to prepare them against potential ISIS assaults. In the video, boys as young as 12 claim to have taken part in pitched battles against ISIS, whereas others appearing much younger hold automatic weapons and join in chants vowing to "die with dignity" and defend their land from ISIS with their "dead bodies". One says he would rather train in combat in order to please his father and bring honor on his family than go to school. Abu Oman, a tribal Sheikh, says that teaching young children to defend their honor and protect their land is part of tribal tradition, and it is a father's duty to teach his son the importance of these virtues.

Transcription:

Trainer (man, Arabic):

(00:07) If you see anybody moving in front of you, shoot him. Our enemies are located from this point onward.

(00:21) You are the men of…

Children: Bou Fahed men!

Trainer: Whose men are you?

Children: The Bou Fahed!

(00:30) Trainer: Would you allow ISIS to come here?

Children: No!

(00:57) Trainer: By God, you will fight in real life, not in some fake battle.

(01:16) Hold it like that, to the front.

(01:24) Put the rifle butt against your shoulder.

(01:45) Trainer: Who is your enemy?

Children: ISIS! (Shouting)

Trainer: Do you want to fight them?

Children: Yes! (Shouting)

Trainer: You are heroes, good job.

Oman, 12 years old, (Child, Arabic):

(02:10) We are the heroes of the Bou Fahed clan. We are standing up to ISIS to defend our land and honor.

This is the field of honor, dignity and pride. We are standing here to defend our honor, women and land.

Many battles began in the Eastern Husseiba area, al-Madeek and al-Jareyya. We support our brothers in the police, the army, al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization militia), and other tribal heroes.

We are steadfast against ISIS. By God, they will only step on this land over our dead bodies.

I participated in the battle of Eastern Huseiba. My brothers from the police and the clans were worried about my safety. But I asked to shoot, and they allowed me to shoot.

My friends at school are proud of me. I support my brothers from the Bou Fahed clan.

Interviewer: Are you not afraid of being injured or hurt? Are you not scared of the sound of shooting? What would you do?

Does one die once or twice?

Interviewer: What is that? Repeat it.

Does one die once or twice? We would rather die with our dignity than live in humiliation.

Ali Kamal Sabagh, 13 years old, (Child, Arabic):

(03:45) The Bou Fahed clan was at the barricade, the Eastern Husseiba barricade. There was shooting. I said: “Should I shoot?” They said: “No, do not.” They did not let me shoot.

They asked me to bring them water, to carry ammunition and bring food. I stayed with them.

Interviewer: Are you not afraid of being injured? What do your friends in school tell you? What class are you in?

I am in seventh grade. I am not afraid of being injured or of anything that might happen to me. All I care about is protecting my home, honor, and dignity.

Interviewer: How do you feel about the police and the army? What does your father do for a living?

I love the police and the army and I wish I could participate with them in fighting ISIS, the terrorists. I hope that ISIS leaves al-Anbar.

My friends ask me if I fear to get injured, I say: “No, I am protecting my home.”

Interviewer: What does your father do for a living?

He works in the police force.

Interviewer: Your father is in the police?

Yes.

Chanting 1:

(04:53) These are the people of al-Ramadi, who did not accept shame.

They are both young and gray-haired,

They are the people of dignity, generosity, manliness and goodness,

We want to die with dignity!

Chanting 2:

We will stand and fight you, ISIS!

You have doomed yourselves by attacking the Bou Fahed clan,

The brave have stood against you,

They will cut your tails.

Chanting 3:

O my brothers,

We are leopards and our flag shall remain high,

We taught the entire universe a lesson,

We will die with our dignity, and never surrender or be humiliated.

O my brothers,

We shall fight,

We are the victorious leopards,

O my brothers,

Cover your head for the Bou Fahed have come.

Abu Oman, Tribal Sheikh (Man, Arabic):

(06:09) People should know that these are the traditions of the clans. We raise our children to have good ethics and religious values; to be generous and respect hospitality. This is the most important message we want to deliver. Our children, in spite of their young age, they were brought up to defend their land, honor, religion, homeland, the province, and the clan. As their fathers we have duties, but they also have duties, too. They need to understand the need to defend honor, land and religion.

We want to deliver this message to anyone who does not understand what a clan means. Each clan can represent a country that has its own traditions, customs and constitution. Whoever does not know this should know it.

Interviewer: How old were you when you started to shoot? Did your father also teach you these things?

I was 10 years old, as I remember. I started to shoot during the good times; at weddings, occasions, and funerals. We learnt how to shoot since we were children.

Interviewer: Do you know anyone from your clan who joined ISIS? What were the reasons behind this?

Unfortunately, yes, there are many people from the clans and from al-Anbar who joined ISIS. They were fooled due to unemployment. They were lured by money.

I hold government officials responsible for this. If they had good intentions to embrace all the sons of Iraq and keep them within a unified country, none of this would have happened.

February 18, 2015
Karbala, Iraq

Norwegian Shiite Militia Commander Abass al Assadi appears in a second video, interviewed at his home in Karbala. Despite video evidence and what he claimed in is first video on Transterra Media, he now says that he did not and will not take his son to war. The Transterra contributor visited Abass at his home in Hay al-Ghadir, Karbala, where he lives with his wife and two sons Ali and Hussein. The day before the interview Abass had arrived home for a nine-day vacation, but he then received a call from his commanders with orders to head back to Samarrah with some of his fighters. Accodring to Abass his eldest son Ahmed, who travels between California and Oslo, has been arrested and questioned by the Norwegian authorities before being released. The same thing happened to his own brother who also lives in Oslo. In the previous video Abass and his youngest son Hussein appeared to be in a training camp for the al-Hashid al-Shaabi or “Popular Crowd”, Shiite militias, where the boy is seen spending time in training with the fighters and firing a weapon. The boy said that he had participated in battles against ISIS, such as in Jurf al-Sakher.

Norwegian father and sons fight ISIS together in Shiite militia in Iraq

Iraqi special forces soldiers and popular troops from 9th Division, lead by General Neemat Jawdat Al Ankushi, patrol in the area of Samerra, Iraq, on January 22, 2015 just after villages of this area have been liberated from Daech or ISIS militants.

October 14, 2014
Baghdad, Iraq

At least eight people were killed with more than 25 were wounded when a suicide bomber attacked Habibiyah, a predominantly Shia district in the south of Sadr City, Baghdad. The attack took place at 7am at the same time when Shia muslims were returning from the holy shrines where they were celebrating the Eid al-Ghadir Shia Muslim feast. This attack was one of three bombings, on Monday and Tuesday, which targeted Shia areas in Baghdad, and left a total of 33 dead according to local police sources.

Families of the victims killed by ISIS in the old American base COB Speicher, protest in the streets of Karbala. The crowd, of mostly women, wave pictures of their missing family members in the air, calling for the return of the bodies of those killed and the release of those who are still detained. ISIS attacked the base in May 2014, killing many of the Iraqi soldiers posted there and taking others prisoner. Since then the Kurdish Peshmerga have regained control over the area.

September 11, 2014
Karbala, Iraq

An explosion in a parking lot at 3pm in Maytham al-Tamar Street in Karbala, caused seven deaths, ten injuries and the destruction of 50 cars. Two other explosions occurred in the exact same time in neighboring provinces, al-Hella, and al-Najaf.

Iraqi soldiers hiding near the Al-Ukhaider Fortress, 50km south of Karbala, having been ordered to retreat from the Syrian border. On the way to supply the border patrol with aid, Sayed Mohammad al-Talkani, the representative of Muqtada al-Sadr, and Iraqi Member of Parliament, Fatm al Kreiti, found 2,500 soldiers sheltering in the archaeological site. They lacked food and water; many of them suffered from starvation and some had become sick and died. When asked why they retreated they said that they received orders from the officers, with no reason given, to abandon their posts and were told to leave the border open for ISIL to enter and seize the abandoned weapons left there.

Al Anbar, Saudi-Iraqi Border

Iraqi soldiers on the border with Saudi Arabia take security precautions because of strange behavior seen on the Saudi side of the border. They believe ISIS are preparing an attack.

Armed Shia fighters from the al-Akida brigade celebrate their graduation after seven days of combat training under guidance of Iranian military advisors. Sheikh Maytham al-Karbalaei, a leader in the brigade stated, “This regiment was trained in the most modern tactics of urban warfare, and how to respond to any sudden attack against the Shiite holy sites.”

The brigade of 2,500 fighters is independent and does not answer to any governmental authority. It is responsible for the protection of al-Ataba al-Abasey shrine and receives its orders from Iraqi-Shia spiritual leader Sheikh Ali al-Sayed al-Sistani.

Karbala, Iraq
June 24, 2014

Iranian soldiers train newly recruited fighters in the Iraqi-Hezbollah and the Iraqi Badr brigades in a football stadium in Karbala. With the help of Arabic translators, the Iranians teach the basics of urban warfare and the art of close combat. After five days of training, the fighters will be deployed on the front lines to fight ISIL alongside the Iraqi Army.

June 23, 2014 al-Faj, Iraq Iraqi Army forces deploy along the Iraqi-Saudi border in the al-Faj area, southwest of Baghdad. The army has been deployed to prevent the infiltration of ISIL and other militant forces.

June 22, 2014
Karbala, Iraq

A group of Iraqi-American women, and other multinational female Iraqis, protest in the holy Shia city of Karbala against Obama’s “dull” attitude toward the ISIL offensive across Iraq.

Nivine Ahmed, an American citizen in the protest said that she is upset because she feels the American response to events in Iraq is supportive of what she feels is terrorism at the hands ISIL. The protestors came to Iraq without getting approval from the American government. They first flew to Lebanon with their American passports, entering on tourist visas, and then flew to Najaf and entered Iraq using Iraqi passports.