Terror group claims these are orphaned children who are being trained to become fighters

IN THE beginning it looks like a typical scene in a childcare centre..

Children happily play with their toys and welcome their lunch with enthusiasm.

Two boys roll their plastic cars, another holds his teddy bear and an older boy plays with a football.

But all is not as it appears in this video.

The footage, released by the Islamic State terror group, purports to show child soldiers in training in Syria.

The disturbing twist becomes apparent when a boy opens a locker and reaches for some army greens.

The boys and girls, the extremist group says, are the orphans of their fighters.

IS claims the video shows its charitable work for orphans in classrooms and an exercise field, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

Young boys are shown being put through their paces on an outdoor concrete floor.

The children are made to do army-style exercises including push-ups and squats.

It’s not the first time IS has used children in their video.

Disturbing footage of Indonesian children carrying out a mock Islamic State mass execution emerged last month.

The chilling 18-second clip was uploaded to social media with the tag line “A message for Jokowi and Obama”, in reference to Indonesian President Joko Widodo and US President Barack Obama.

It is believed the film was produced in a shelter for Indonesians in Syria, with the children describing themselves as “muhajirin” or travellers from their home country.