Syria using child soldiers as young as 14 He added that while he held a combat post for several months, his commanders eventually told him to leave the unit because of his age. Groups of boys as young as 14 are volunteering, and in some cases being asked to carry out dangerous tasks in the war, the report found. Raed, 14, said he and 10 other boys would smuggle weapons across the border from Turkey, and stand guard at lookout posts on the border. In June of this year, the group of FSA fighters that Raed was with came under attack. The boy was shot and disabled, possibly for life. The Syria Violations Documenting Centre, a Syrian opposition-monitoring group, has documented the deaths of at least 17 children who fought with the FSA. Many others have been severely injured, and some permanently disabled. The International Criminal Court says that conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 or using them to participate in hostilities is a war crime. The United Nations convention on child rights urges states to ensure that people under 18 are not recruited or used in hostilities. Some of the children have fled with their families to refugee camps in neighbouring countries. But the report found that they remain at risk of being recruited. Human Rights Watch also reviewed several YouTube videos, including videos on FSA brigades' Facebook pages or YouTube channels, featuring former child combatant "martyrs" or children who say they hope to be martyred. "All eyes are on the Syrian opposition to prove they're trying to protect children from bullets and bombs, rather than placing them in danger," said Priyanka Motaparthy, children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. She added that rebels need to "make a strong, public commitment against use of children in their forces, and to verify boys' ages before allowing them to enlist." Separately, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that an air strike on Aleppo killed at least 15 civilians on Thursday, including five children.