[JURIST] Approximately 2,500 minors under the age of 18 have been detained as illegal enemy combatants by the US military at facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay since 2002, according to a US government report [text, DOC; ACLU press release] made public Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website]. As of April 2008, the US is reportedly holding 10 juveniles in Afghanistan and 500 juveniles in Iraq. The US had filed the report with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child [committee website] pursuant to the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of the Child [text].

Also Wednesday, the ACLU released a report [PDF text] criticizing the US military for targeting minors under the age of 17 in its recruitment practices despite official stated policy against the practice. The Washington Post has more.