The Cubs of the Caliphate (Arabic: أشبال الخلافة, romanized: Ashbal al-Khilafah) referred to a programme by the Islamic State (IS) to recruit and train child soldiers between the ages of 10 and 15.
[2] After it established a proto-state in the Middle East in 2014, IS was quick to organize camps to train child soldiers, called "Cubs".
[3] Children as young as six were recruited or kidnapped and sent to the Islamic State's military and religious training camps during the proto-state's heyday.
However, the Islamic State's West Africa Province (ISWAP) had established a similar programme by late 2021, as it showcased a cadet school in a propaganda video published in January 2022.
[2] Soon after, IS-affiliated media channel an-Najiyah published an Indonesian document which encouraged the training of child soldiers, evidently aimed at the Southeast Asian branches of IS.