The savages of Islamic State have stepped up their use of teenage suicide bombers in recent weeks , even using their leader 's alleged cousin to blow himself up at a checkpoint in Iraq . Named as Abu Hafs al-Badri , the youthful teenager is claimed to be the cousin of Abu Bakr al-Bagdadhi , the extremist group 's self-styled caliph . It appears ISIS 's growing strategy of using teenage suicide bombers indicates their continued focus on indoctrinating impressionable local teenagers and turning them into deadly bombers . Not even old enough to grow a beard , teenage suicide bomber Abu Hafs al-Badri is claimed to be one of the cousins of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi . Abu Basir al-Shami ( left ) and Abu Yaqoub al-Iraqi ( right ) both blew themselves up in Iraq . Both boys appear to be be older than 16-years-old . al-Badri 's martyrdom photo was released recently alongside fellow teenage suicide bomber Abu Yaqoub al-Iraqi . The teenage duo carried out joint suicide missions in ISIS 's latest offensive on the Baiji oil refinery in Salahuddin province , Iraq . Little is known about Abu Yaqoub al-Iraqi except like Abu Hafs , he was an Iraqi national . Both fighters appear to be little older than 16-years-old . Another teenage suicide bomber Abu Basir al-Shami blew himself up in Anbar province , near the Iraqi city of Ramadi . Wearing a ISIS branded hat and awkwardly holding an AK 47 in his hands , the teenager stares emptily into the camera . Abu Qaqa al-Shami ( left ) and Abu Hassan al-Shami , ( right ) both Syrian nationals , carried out suicide lorry attacks in Iraq last month . Abu Qaqa al-Shami appeared in an ISIS video , shouting a torrent of jihaid slogans and practicing his shooting with an AK 47. al-Shami blew himself up at a checkpoint in North Baghdad . The teenager is shown singing as he drives a vehicle packed full of explosives towards a military checkpoint in Iraq . The trio of teenage suicide bombers come after another teenager was shown in a video , criticising the West before he carried out a suicide bomb attack . Known as Abu Qaqa al-Shami , the Syrian national drove a truck laden with explosives into a checkpoint in northern Baghdad . The boy has been named as Abu al-Hassan al-Shami , a Syrian fighter who appears to be no older than 14 years old . In a photo series , entitled 'Battle of Vengeance for the Mother of the Believers ( Aisha ) ' , the youngster is thought to be one of two Syrian fighters , who carried out a suicide truck bombings in the Iraqi province of Salahuddin . He is shown sitting in the driver 's seat of the large lorry filled with barrels of explosives . The vehicle has been reinforced with plated armour , leaving the young driver with only a small rectangular window to navigate the final journey for his deadly vehicle . Abu al-Hassan al-Shami , who appears no older than 14 , is thought to be the Islamic State 's youngest suicide bomber . In a series of pictures , the young fighter appears to be playing with a hand grenade before the huge explosion of the lorry in January 2015 . In his hands , the young fighter appears to be playing with a hand grenade and the barrel of his AK-47 rifle can be seen resting near the steering wheel between his legs . A final image shows a huge explosion after the detonation of the lorry , killing him and a number of Iraqi security forces . The attack happened near the ancient Iraqi city of Samarra , currently still held by the Iraqi army . It also shows a big ball of fire erupting into the orange sky , with pieces of shrapnel flying in all directions across the arid landscape . One ISIS supporter on social media commented : 'Abu al-Hassan al-Shami the martyr . His youth does n't stop him from supporting his religion . ' Australian fighter Jake Bilardi , 18 , from Melbourne , detonated a van filled with barrels of explosives near Iraqi armed forces in Ramadi last month . Bilardi 's suicide mission reportedly failed to hit its intended target with General Tahssin Ibrahim confirming that no one had been killed and just a few vehicles had been damaged by the attack . ISIS have not just used local teenagers as suicide bombers in Iraq . Australian fighter Jake Bilardi , 18 , from Melbourne , detonated a van filled with barrels of explosives near Iraqi armed forces in Ramadi . The attack was reported as a rare failure , with General Tahssin Ibrahim confirming that no one had been killed and just a few vehicles had been damaged by the attack . Islamic State supporters on social media later paid tribute to the Australian teenage fighter , with one blogger writing : 'He started fighting in Baijī against the ISF Rāfidha and was a lion on the battlefield although he was at a young age and with a weak body , he was like a mountain . '
Teenage suicide bomber Abu Hafs al Badri is referred to as the cousin of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi . In no older than 14 years old , a 14-year-old fighter Abu Hassan al-Shami , blew himself up in Salahuddin province , Iraq . The rise in ISIS teenage suicide bombers could indicate how much the jihadi group is struggling to keep territory .