Boko Haram has killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds
during its six-year campaign to carve out an Islamist state in northern
Nigeria. In recent months it has increased cross-border raids into
Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
"We announce our allegiance to the
Caliph ... and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity,
in hardship and ease," read an English language translation of the
audio broadcast in Arabic that purported to be from the Nigerian
militant group.
"We call upon Muslims everywhere to pledge allegiance to the Caliph," it read.
The pledge of allegiance was attributed to Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau.
The
audio 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.
"(The audio) is confirming what we always thought. It's sad, it's bad," said Nigerian government spokesman Mike Omeri.
"It's
why we were appealing to the international community ... Hopefully the
world will wake up to the disaster unfolding here," he told Reuters.
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.
MIMICKING ISLAMIC STATE
Islamic State's
Baghdadi has already accepted pledges of allegiance from other jihadist
groups in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and north Africa.
Analysts said Boko Haram's move came as no surprise.
"Boko
Haram has followed a trend that only led (us) to anticipate the release
of this audio, mimicking Islamic State propaganda and approach to
military methods, and calling its fighters soldiers of the Caliphate,"
said Laith Alkhouri, director of the Middle East and North Africa
research and jihadi threat intelligence at Flashpoint Partners.
"The
Islamic State, unlike al Qaeda, did not seem to shun Shekau, it
accepted his thuggish persona and lack of Islamic knowledge."
This
month, Boko Haram released a video purporting to show it beheading two
men, its first online posting using advanced graphics and editing
techniques similar to footage from Islamic State.
"Boko Haram is
now being elevated from a local jihadi group to an important arm of the
Islamic State. With Boko Haram’s wide network in North Africa, the
Islamic State’s projection of creating an Islamic Caliphate is gaining
headway," said Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group.
"Furthermore,
Islamic State’s infrastructure, resources and military capabilities
will enable Boko Haram to expand its operations and control even faster
in North Africa."
Source:
Yahoo News
5 comments:
They will all be destroyed for straying from the righteous path of Islam. Murderous looting thieves should find their home in hell with their father Satan.
https://www.academia.edu/9430551/Anti-terrorism_Counterterrorism_Combatting_Terrorism_
Here is a paper your readers maybe interested in; https://www.academia.edu/9430551/Anti-terrorism_Counterterrorism_Combatting_Terrorism_
It seems BH is acting out of desperation and weakness
Many thanks
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