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Games teach British Muslim children to kill 'the infidels'(The Express On Sunday Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) CHILDREN as young as eight are being recruited by Al Qaeda terrorists using sick shoot-em-up images masquerading as innocent computer games. Terrorist cells around the UK are encouraging children to play the violent games in Islamic youth clubs and schools, security sources have revealed. And intelligence chiefs warn that the games, in which players score points by using high-tech weapons to blast Allied troops into oblivion, are effectively grooming the youngsters to become terrorists of the future. Last night Shadow Minister for Homeland Security Patrick Mercer called on the Government to act immediately to shut down the websites carrying the games. He said: "I am appalled that our enemies think they can get away with this sort of underhand tactic. The Government must crack down on this and see it for what it is - an attack on the minds of our children. "It is a deeply cynical tactic and should make us realise that Al Qaeda is a lot more sophisticated than we realise. "The Government must eradicate this now before innocent youngsters get sucked into terrorism and into a w throats of "infidel" enemies. The games appear on militant w orld of hate." Highly technical computer experts from Al Qaeda and other radical groups have modified v ideo war games, turning Allied troops into the villains. The Islamic forces are depicted as the heroes in heavy gunfights and hand-tohand combat, where Muslim fanatics stalk soldiers, gaining extra points for slitting the ebsites, where youngsters can play at being urban guerrillas. But first they have to register with the site's sponsors, and this ensures they can be easily contacted by leaders of local Al Qaeda cells. Security services in the UK have been increasingly worried at the spread of the games through Muslim youth clubs in the UK. A senior security source told the Sunday Express: "The hits on the militant websites for these games are frighteningly high. "At first glance they are just violent w ar games, like hundreds available on the high street. "But the subliminal message is very strong, and as a recruiting tool we fear it will also be very effective as it gets children radicalised from such an early age." The "get them young" tactics are similar to those used by predatory paedophiles desperate to ensnare new targets. Bob McLaughlin, former head of Scotland Yard's paedophile unit, said: "By turning terror killings into a game you are making something unacceptable appear normal. "I have known characters who constantly escalate what they ask children to do as part of the grooming process. "The process is the same whether you are talking about paedophiles or older terrorists trying to get children on board and to accept their sick ideas as normal and right. "If they are doing this recruiting in youth clubs, then you are using children to ensnare children. If one kid sees another doing something, then in a sense they think it is OK. "This is one of the most cynical ploys around and one of the oldest and dirtiest tricks in the book." Concerns were first raised last year by San Diego-based Science Applications International Corp - which monitors 1,500 militant websites used by terror groups for fund-raising, recruitment, training and communications. It found sites using images of real US soldiers being hit by snipers in Iraq, recordings of TV evangelists, including Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, making disparaging remarks about Islam and games where players control a huge machine gun, with the ultimate goal of killing President Bush. One of the latest video games modified by militants is the popular Battlefield 2 from leading video game publisher, Electronic Arts of Redwood City, California. The modified trailer on Islamic websites shows a man in Arab headdress carrying an automatic weapon into combat with US invaders. As the screen flashes between images of gunfights, explosions and helicopter assaults, a narrator's voice says: "I was just a boy when the infidels came to my village in Blackhawk helicopters." Another game, called Lion of Falluja, is set in Iraq's violent Anbar province, shows the deaths of more US troops killed by insurgents. Last night a Home Office spokesperson said: "We are aware the internet can play a role in the radicalisation of young individuals. We are working across government to tackle extremism wherever it arises." Copyright 2006 The Express on Sunday. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Europe Intelligence Wire. |