{
  "id": 18883,
  "title": "Young guns for hire - the teenage hitmen recruited to kill across Europe",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/young-guns-for-hire-the-teenage-hitmen-recruited-to-kill-across-europe-18883",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-01T23:03:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC World",
    "slug": "bbc-world",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czrjyevmv61o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a Stockholm suburb, an 18-year-old named Atilla Azimov killed a man named Murad Abdelkader while on his way home from work. Azimov had been hired by the Foxtrot Network, an organized crime group with ties to the Iranian regime, for his violent services. This group has been responsible for around 35 murders and various attacks in Europe since 2022, often recruiting teenagers for these killings.\n\nThe Foxtrot Network utilizes a \"gamified\" approach to recruit and instruct their teenage hitmen, similar to how video games are structured. Europol's Task Force GRIMM has identified 11 countries affected by this violence-as-a-service (VaaS) trend, including Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The leader of Foxtrot, Rawa Majid, has fled Sweden and is currently in Tehran, Iran.\n\nAccording to investigative journalist Diamant Salihu, the Iranian regime has ordered Majid to carry out attacks against enemies of the regime, including Iranian dissidents, journalists, and Israeli targets. Majid fled to Tehran in October 2023 and subsequently formed a deal with the regime, working for them in exchange for living freely in Iran.\n\nThe Foxtrot Network and Majid received sanctions from the UK government in April 2025, following the arrest of a 18-year-old named Johannes Natland, who was recruited to carry out a hit in West Yorkshire. Natland's case illustrates the workings of the VaaS system. He was inspired by online requests from other teenagers, including Generalen, a 16-year-old from a children's home, who initially posted the job offer. Generalen then recruited Natland for the hit, passing him on to a Foxtrot member known as Agent 47, who helped Natland navigate the process and obtain necessary materials for the murder.",
  "summary": "The Foxtrot Network is thought to be responsible for about 35 murders in Europe, and uses violence-as-a-service tactics.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Le Monde English",
        "title": "Visualize the full extent of wildfires across Europe in recent weeks",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/07/14/visualize-the-full-extent-of-wildfires-across-europe-in-recent-weeks",
        "published": "2026-07-14T02:00:06.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "Young guns for hire - the teenage hitmen recruited to kill across Europe",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/01/young-guns-for-hire-the-teenage-hitmen-recruited-to-kill-across-europe",
        "published": "2026-08-01T23:03:35.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}