NAIROBI, Kenya — A typical prize for a children’s contest might be a backpack, a lunchbox or maybe some toys.

Not in Somalia.

Over the weekend, a Somali radio station run by the Shabab, the most powerful Islamist militant group in the war-ravaged country, held an awards ceremony to honor children who were experts at Shabab trivia and at reciting the Koran. The prizes? Fully automatic assault rifles and live hand grenades.