Al Qaeda targeting children with animated movie

An animated movie being made by al-Qaeda supporters is aimed at inspiring children to take up armed struggle with the militant group, a media report said Thursday.

Stills were published on the Arabic-language al-Shamouk jihadist website, BBC reported quoting Qulliam, a London-based "counter extremism" think tank.

Qulliam said the movie would show "heroic acts", including "armed engagements". But a US government adviser on counter-terrorism expressed doubt that such a cartoon was really being made, BBC added.

The post on the al-Shamouk website was authored by Abu al-Laith al-Yemen, according to the think tank.

It quoted him saying,"The cartoon movie Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is a very exciting story that tells the facts about who let down the Islamic religion and the Prophet. It aims to catalyse the youth and the children to follow the steps of Islamic jihadist figures.

"It includes real incidents and features heroic actions by the mujahideen in the Prophet's peninsula.These incidents include raids, armed engagements and assassinations. It is an alternative to the poison that is broadcast by other TV channels to our children and youth", he added.

The contributor included four images apparently taken from the film, which he claimed was in the final stages, and asked website users to give their reaction.

"Whether or not this movie actually appears, this shows a significant development in al-Qaeda's attitude to the media and to recruitment," BBC said quoting Noman Benotman, a former jihadist and Quilliam analyst.

"They are trying out new methods to make terrorism exciting to young people and even to children," he said.

"Many Muslim parents will see this as a direct attempt by al-Qaeda to create divisions within families and to undermine the authority of parents," Benotman added.