Islamic State militants chain children and disabled people to car bombs, according to US general

Islamic State (IS) jihadists are forcing children and disabled people into explosives-laden trucks and making them drive at Iraqi security forces in Mosul, a general from the US-led coalition has said.

The barbaric tactic, coupled with other increasingly desperate battlefield measures, is a sign IS knows defeat is inevitable, officials say.

The jihadists have used exploding trucks, known in military circles as VBIEDs - vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices – to devastating effect in numerous engagements during the Mosul offensive and elsewhere in Iraq.

Speaking in Baghdad this week, US Air Force Brigadier General Matt Isler said IS had adopted coercive new techniques in its use of suicide car bombs because the jihadists appear to be running out of willing drivers.

“We saw people being led to a VBIED, being put in [it] and being chained in the VBIED,” he said. “We’ve seen children put in VBIEDs as drivers, people that aren’t able to walk ... I don’t know if they signed up for this service.”

The coalition has often seen VBIEDs depart on missions, only for their drivers to veer off course and attempt to hide behind structures.