Iraq's Sunni militias recruit mid-teens to fight Islamic State

Displaced children, who fled from the Islamic State violence, are seen at Debaga Camp in the Makhmour area near Mosul, Iraq, August 30, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

DEBAGA CAMP, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi tribal militias are recruiting youths in their mid-teens from a camp for displaced people to fight in the battle to push Islamic State out of Mosul, the camp's manager and a rights group said.

At least seven under the age of 18 have been enlisted this month by two units of a force backed by Baghdad and Washington which is made up largely of fighters from Sunni Muslim areas in Iraq's north and west, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report.