Islamic State launches new app aimed at children

The Islamic State (IS) militant group has launched a new app aimed at children, using terminology for military hardware to teach the letters of the Arabic alphabet.

The app, which was circulated by the group’s propaganda arm Office of Zeal on Tuesday, uses words like gun, tank and rocket to teach the first few letters of the alphabet.

IS has previously produced applications for mobile phones and already runs at least two news and information apps aimed at spreading the group’s propaganda. 

However, this is the first time the group has released an app explicitly aimed at children, the Long War Journal website reported. 

The group publicised the new app via a news release circulated on the encrypted messaging service Telegram.

The app, which is called Huroof  (Arabic for “letters”), features a screen for each letter of the alphabet, accompanied by a word beginning with that letter and an image of the word. 

The screen for the letter “b,” for example, has the Arabic word bunduqiya or gun, with a cartoon picture of a shotgun. 

IS appears to be stepping up its efforts to recruit younger members.

A propaganda video released in late April features a boy who says he was just 14 when he joined, describing the “honour” of being chosen to take part in a suicide mission in Syria.

The video’s subtitles label the boy a “martyr”.