The image, which was posted to a web forum on 10 October 2008, portrays the training of young children, recruited members of the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) of Uzbekistan. It demonstrates the extent of the process of indoctrinating children and the IJU’s reliance on them for clearly violent purposes. In the post, above the image (and referring to other images that were posted on the same forum) appeared the caption in Arabic: صور لتخرج دفعة من اشبال اتحاد الجهاد الاسلامي الازبكي بافغانستان المقاتلين يد بيد مع مجاهدي الامارة الاسلامية بافغانستان اعزها الله (“pictures of a graduating class of young fighters [lit. lion cubs] of the Uzbek Islamic Jihad Union in Afghanistan who fight alongside [lit. hand in hand] the mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, may God strengthen it”). The black banner in the image bears the shahada (Islamic testimony of faith holding that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger). According to prophetic tradition (hadith), the black flag was the battle flag of the Prophet Muhammad and it was carried into battle by many of his companions.
