Nigeria's militant
Islamist group Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, which
rules a self-declared caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria, according
to a video posted online on Saturday.
"We announce our allegiance to the Caliph ... and will hear and
obey in times of difficulty and prosperity," read an English language
translation of the video broadcast in Arabic that purported to be from
the Nigerian militant group.
The pledge of allegiance was attributed to Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.
Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram (Photo: AFP)
The video script identified the Caliph as Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn
Ibrahim al-Awad al-Qurashi, who is better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,
the leader of Islamic State and self-proclaimed caliph of the Muslim
world.
Baghdadi has already accepted pledges of allegiance from other
jihadist groups in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and north
Africa.
Boko Haram has been waging a six-year military campaign to carve out an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.
On Saturday, four bomb blasts killed at least 50 people in the
northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri in the worst attacks there since
Boko Haram militants tried to seize the town in two major assaults
earlier this year.
Aftermath of Boko Haram attack on the town of Baga (Photo: AP)
According to a Daily Beast report last month, American
Counterterrorism Center Director Nicholas Rasmussen told a Senate
Intelligence Committee hearing that Boko Haram has been increasing
communication with other African terrorist groups and IS.
The Daily Beast added that a connection between the two groups might
have ramifications in the war authorization bill President Barack Obama
has submitted to Congress, which seeks authority for military action
against IS "and associated forces" – which could potentially authorize
US troops to act against Boko Haram in Africa.
Boko Haram has terrorized Nigeria for years. The Daily Beast said the
group has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings of five Westerners
and captured Nigerian military outposts in the northeast of Nigeria.
Boko Haram frequently abducts civilians and executes hostages. It
also attacks villages and massacres inhabitants. Last year, it kidnapped
300 schoolgirls. In January, international media outlets reported that
2,000 people were killed by the group in a town near the border with
Chad.
In February, US intelligence officials said they estimated that the
group has about 4,000-6,000 "hardcore" fighters. The following day,
Nigeria and its four bordering countries – Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and
Benin -- announced plans to deploy an 8,750-strong force by next month
to fight Boko Haram.
Mohamed Ibn Chambas, UN Special Representative for West Africa, said
in February that Nigeria needed "to demonstrate greater resolve than has
been the case so far in this fight against a serious enemy, Boko
Haram."
Boko Haram fighters attacked a village in Chad a month ago, the
group's first known lethal attack in that country, which killed several
people. Attacks had previously been limited to Nigeria.
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