350 British Jihadists Trained in Syria Now Back in the UK and Threatening Security - Home Office

At least 350 British jihadis are back in the UK after fighting and plotting terror attacks in the ISIS - 'braincell' of Syria, the government warned today.

Boko Haram's Shifting Media Propaganda: Is Sect Poised For A Wider Conflict?

Shekau (In His Latest Video)

From grainy, amateurish footage and rambling, almost inaudible speeches to slick, expertly edited productions, Boko Haram's media strategy has undergone a transformation in recent months. The Nigerian militants this week published two videos that contrasted starkly with earlier efforts, using visual cues and a style resembling similar messages from the Islamic State jihadists.

'We Are Not At War With Islam'- Obama's Message At CVE Summit

Barack Obama (POTUS)

President Barack Obama says the United States is not at war with Islam. The U.S. leader told a White House summit on combating violent extremism he wants to discredit the belief that Americans and Westerners in general are at odds with Muslims. He said this narrative helps extremists radicalize and recruit young Americans and others.

United States Set To Provide African Nations With Equipment and Intelligence to Fight Boko Haram in Nigeria

U.S. army to provide equipment, intelligence to fight Boko Haram

N’DJAMENA (Reuters) - The United States military will provide communications equipment and intelligence to help African nations in the fight against Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, the commander of U.S. Special Forces operations in Africa said.

Terrorist Leader With $3M Bounty On His Head Surrenders In Somalia

NAIROBI, Kenya — A Somali intelligence official says a leader with the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab, who has a $3 million bounty on his head, surrendered in Somalia.

Nigeria Reaches 'Ceasefire Agreement' With Boko Haram

Nigeria's military says it has agreed a truce with Islamist militant group Boko Haram and the schoolgirls it has abducted will be released.

Scores of Boko Haram Insurgents Surrender With Weapons In Konduga

Sequel to relentless onslaught by troops, many members of the Boko Haram terrorists group are beginning to surrender voluntarily. Some of them submitted themselves and their weapons to the leadership of the troops in Konduga during a further campaign at the weekend.

The Defence Headquarters has tweeted that "as the heat on the terrorists continues, five terrorists surrendered on Saturday (September 20, 2014) with all their weapons to troops at Konduga, pleading for mercy."

Other captured terrorists who refused to surrender have also been giving useful information on the subsequent plans of the group in an apparent offer to cooperate.

In the last few days there have been several attempts by terrorists desperate to gain entry to Konduga, which the Nigerian troops, have continued to foil.

The PRNigeria gathered that the terrorists’ move was aimed at recovering the bodies of their prominent fighters who had died in the previous encounters in the area.

Meanwhile the Nigerian troops have recovered more weapons during the mopped up operations while some of their (terrorists') vehicles have been destroyed.

  - PRNigeria

Arise Nigerians, Unite Against Insecurity, Terrorism and Insurgency!

Written by: Don Okereke

Agreed Nigeria has never been the most peaceful country in the world but the current spate of insecurity, terrorism and insurgency is unprecedented in the annals of this country. What started like a child's play has metamorphosed into one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations. Prior to now, the concept of suicide bombing was alien to Nigeria, now it is becoming voguish even to females (mothers and potential mothers!) One is amazed how Nigeria snowballed to this ignoble position within a short period of time.

Britain 'To Send Tornado Reconnaissance Jets to Nigeria' To Find Abducted Chibok Girls

The RAF is sending three warplanes to help locate the Nigerian schoolgirls taken by an Islamist terror group, it has been reported.

Four months ago Boko Haram, which is fighting to reinstate a medieval Islamic caliphate in religiously mixed Nigeria, abducted more than 200 schoolgirls from the village of Chibok and they remain missing.

Convicted Boko Haram Terrorist - Kabiru Sokoto Promises To Name Sect's Sponsors If Granted Presidential Pardon

Barring any last minute change of plans, Convicted Boko Haram terrorist, Kabiru Umar aka Kabiru Sokoto, according to reports is set to start unveiling names and organisations of alleged sponsors of the dreaded Islamic sect.

Boko Haram Kills 10, Raze Homes, Military Camp and Police Station In Fresh Attack

Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Suspected Boko Haram gunmen killed 10 people who had fled their homes to escape repeated attacks by the insurgents, after hunting them down in a nearby village, witnesses said on Monday.

Chadian Soldiers 'Rescue 85 Nigerians Abducted By Boko Haram'

Reports are emerging of the rescue by Chadian troops of some 85 Nigerian villagers abducted earlier this week by suspected Boko Haram militants.

A Nigerian security official told AFP that they had intercepted a convoy of buses transporting gunmen and the villagers in a routine security check.

Neither the Nigerian or Chadian militaries have confirmed the reports.

Boko Haram is accused of kidnapping hundreds of people in the north-east of Nigeria, and neighbouring Cameroon.

The group, which wants to create an Islamic state in the region, sparked international outcry when they abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in April in Nigeria's remote down of Chibok in Borno state.

Speedboat Escape
Dozens of men, women and children were seized from the remote fishing village of Doron Bag by boat across Lake Chad on Sunday.

Eyewitnesses said 26 people were killed in the raid.

A senior Nigerian security official told the Agence France-Presse news agency on Saturday that 85 people abducted in the attack were had been found by Chadian troops.

Nigeria imposed a state of emergency in Borno state last year to deal with the Boko Haram insurgency
"The convoy being led by six Boko Haram gunmen was stopped on the Chadian part of the border along Lake Chad for routine checks and the huge number of people in the convoy raised suspicion," the unnamed official said.

The six suspects were giving conflicting information on the hostages and their destination, he added.

Another official with the National Human Rights Commission in Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, said some militants had escaped on speedboats when they saw the convoy being stopped.

He said the rescued villagers, totalling 65 men and 22 women, were still in Chadian custody but that 30 people were still being held by the militants.

News of the raid on Doron Bag took days to emerge, due to the remote region's poor communication links.

The militants burned down some of the houses in the village, and took mainly women and some boys and girls, a village elder told the BBC.

Other survivors said young men were also taken possibly to be turned into Boko Haram fighters.

A state of emergency was declared in Borno and two other north-eastern states last year to help the military crush the insurgency but the militants have stepped up attacks since then.

The schoolgirls abducted in April are thought to be held in the vast Sambisa forest, along Nigeria's border with Cameroon.

The group has also carried out a wave of bombings and assassinations, including that of moderate Muslim leaders opposed to its ideology.

BBC

Cameroon Orders Its Military Not To Share Intelligence on Boko Haram With Nigeria

CAMEROON has instructed its armed forces not to share information on terrorist group Boko Haram with their Nigerian counterparts after indications that intelligence was finding its way into the hands of the insurgents.

Nigeria and Cameroon share a long and porous border, which Boko Haram has exploited in its campaign of terror, mounting cross-border raids and evading security forces. Of late, however, Cameroon has stepped up its fight against the terrorists, making it more difficult for its territory to be used as a base.

Unlike as is the case with Nigeria, Boko Haram does not have a political following within Cameroon and as such has not managed to infiltrate its military. Similarly, the Cameroonian military has not been infiltrated like the Nigerian Army, in which officers regularly pass information on to the terrorists who then lay ambushes for soldiers.

Aware of the dangers working with the Nigerian military authorities poses, Cameroon’s minister of territorial administration and decentralisation, Rene Emmanuel Sadi, has directed all army commanders to withhold crucial information about the insurgents from Nigeria. In a circular with Decree number G/D/MINATD, tiled Strong Message, he made it clear to the commander of Cameroon's Rapid Intervention Brigade, that the country did not want the grave security situation in Nigeria to spill over into Cameroon.

He charged the Cameroonian forces to be vigilant along the border to prevent any further spillover of Boko Haram's violence into the country. According to the minister, the Cameroonian president, Paul Biya, had charged all the units to ensure that activities of the insurgents were not allowed to get into the country.

Mr Sadi's letter read: “As you are aware of the security situation in the country and the impending turmoil/danger coming from our neighbour, Nigeria, you must keep all important information regarding the Islamic sect under your control without sharing all the information with Nigerians. We do not want the situation from our neighbouring country to spill over to our country. Information from our Western friends portrays Nigeria negatively.”

Already, Cameroon's chief of defence staff has relocated to the north of the country as the war against Boko Haram is intensified. Ahmed Ogbole-Ode, Nigeria's foreign ministry spokesman, said he was not aware of that Cameroon was not cooperating with Nigeria in the campaign against terrorism and that it had ordered its security personnel not to work with the country.

Mr Ogbole-Ode added: “I am not aware of the content of the letter, in fact, I’m hearing it from you for the first time. I cannot comment on the level of cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria unless I get the necessary information from our mission in Yaounde.”

In another development, Chadian troops have rescued most of the 100 people recently kidnapped by Boko Haram following a successful military operation. On August 10, the terrorist group kidnapped 100 people in Doron Baga in the Kukawa area near the border with Chad but they were stopped as they crossed the Chadian border by local soldiers who engaged them in a gun battle, setting free most of the captives.

NigerianWatch

Boko Haram: Nigerian Military Clears Terrorists’ Camps in Counter Offensive

Troops of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in a dawn raid operation on Friday cleared a terrorists’ camp in Buduram, north of Doron Baga, where terrorists were massing up and reorganizing to carry out a reprisal attack after being routed in Doron Baga in a previous encounter last Sunday.

The defence headquarters made this disclosure in a statement on its website Saturday.
The statement said, “seventeen terrorists died in the raid operation while some who escaped into neighbouring islands in the Lake Chad Peninsula are still being pursued”.

Meanwhile, the defence headquarters say calm has been restored in Doron Baga after the Sunday attack by terrorists who infiltrated the community with some of them disguising as women in hijab.

Five of the terrorist died in the counter offensive to defend Doron Baga by troops of the MNJTF.

Many of the inhabitants of the community who had fled into nearby bushes for safety are now returning, the statement said.

Premium Times

Boko Haram - Immigration Detains Germany-Based Nigerian Suspected To Be On Wanted List

A GERMAN-based Nigerian, Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, whose name rhymes with that of a terrorist on the federal government's wanted list has been allegedly brutalized by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) attached to the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos.

Ahmed's Elder brother, Mr. Adam Abdullahi told newsmen on Wednesday in Lagos that Ahmed who came to Nigeria during the last Ramadan holiday was going back to Germany when he was allegedly arrested at the airport and mistaken for the wanted terrorist.

Abdullahi said the 32-year-old Kwara State-born indegin claimed that three NIS officers assaulted him physically adding that one of them hit his head with a rod and left him with a deep cut.

He said all effort to secure Ibrahim's release and claim of innocence were futile as one of the officers simply identified as Alaje insisted on transferring the suspect to the NIS headquarters in Abuja.

Abdullahi also said the intervention of a lawmaker from the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr. Egberongbe Mufutau who represents Apapa Constituency 1, could not secure the release of the suspect.

"Ahmed called us on Saturday night after we had seen him off that his passport has been seized by immigration officers who claimed that his name was on the list of persons wanted by the federal government. We ran back to the airport and were told by Alaje and Umar who were on duty that the case must be taken to Abuja for clearance. They asked us to return on Monday with a return ticket for our brother and one immigration officer who will accompany him.

"He was made to sleep on the floor of one of the offices and was told that he would need clearance from the presidency to leave the country as his name tallies with that of a terrorist on the wanted list of the Nigerian government.

"But by Sunday night he called again to say he was being beaten by the NIS officers on duty. We went back to the airport only to meet him in the cell. His cloth was soaked in blood while his head was bandaged. He said one of the officers hit him with a rod.

"Ahmed was later taken to Abuja on Tuesday where he was detained. His mobile phone and other valuables were confiscated. Right now he is in Abuja awaiting his bail," said Abdullahi.

An NIS officer at the airport who craved anonymity confirmed the incident and said Ahmed's name appeared on the suspect index of the Service with the instruction 'refer to the comptroller of immigration'. But he said they needed to take the suspect to a detention cell because it was already late.

"The suspect refused to go into the cell. We had to apply minimum force to subdue him," he said.

Source:
allafrica.com

Boko Haram: Soldiers Intercept Convoy of Youth Moving From Borno to Abuja

The Nigerian military on Thursday said it had intercepted about 51 youth moving from Maiduguri, Borno State, to Abuja.

This was disclosed via an unsigned statement on its website.
The military said the convoy was intercepted around 3 a.m. along Babale, Plateau State on Wednesday.

The youth, travelling in three 18-seater transit buses, were led by a woman, it said.
It added that officers of the Special Task Force were currently trying to unravel the motive of the youth movement.

The statement also disclosed that during an interrogation, the youth claimed they were being conveyed to Abuja on the order of a Borno State Government official, to meet their relatives for assistance in an economic empowerment programme. It also said the youth had made contradictory statements regarding sponsorship of their mission to Abuja.

The military, however, added that efforts to reach the official, to verify the claims, were not responded, adding that the issue was being investigated to ascertain the genuine mission of the young people.

It said the investigation had become necessary in the light of the security situation and the suspicious claims by the youth.

Source:
Premium Times

Boko Haram Now Confined To Fringes of North-East Nigeria - Pres. Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan says his government has reduced the Boko Haram insurgency in the country to the Northeast alone, down from about 12 States.

President Jonathan said this on Thursday in remarks made by a special adviser, Dr. Doyin Okupe.

Okupe was reacting to the comments made by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who had criticized the government during a lecture marking the 50th birthday of former Governor Timpriye Sylva.

Okupe said Mr. Jonathan did not lie to Nigerians concerning the insurgency, stressing that terrorism is a global phenomenon which has only recently plagued the country.

"At its peak, it ravaged some 12 States in the North including Abuja. Today, because of the courage, resilience and capability of our armed forces and security agencies, we have pushed them to the fringes of the North Eastern parts of the country.”

He admitted that there are still obvious challenges but that the government is giving them the best attention and considerations possible.

"Recently, Foreign Allies including Britain, USA, France, Israel, China and Australia have arrived Nigeria soil and are co-operating with our military to resolve especially the issue of the kidnap of the Chibok girls,” Okupe said.

"These are the best global players and they have been with us for about six weeks. If the releasing of the girls was a tea-party, definitely, it should have been over by now. We have said it before and we will say it again, “yes, we know where the girls are but our approach at releasing them must be carefully weighed against their overall safety.

"It is a matter of national disgrace and shame that highly placed, and highly net worth individuals in the country will continue to politicise the nation’s misfortunes and challenges not minding the deleterious and untoward demoralising effects this attitude have on our military especially, the widows and innocent children of our military heroes who die daily on the fields, defending their country”.

SR

Boko Haram Abducts, Conscripts 100 Young Men in Borno

The deadly Boko Haram sect may have forcefully conscripted 100 persons in Doron Baga, a Borno community.

It was gathered that about 100 persons were abducted during a Sunday attack on the lowly village where over 10 persons were allegedly killed.

A source, who spoke to journalists in Maiduguri, said the insurgents attacked the lowly town on Sunday evening and took away some boys and young men.

It was gathered that 10 were killed by the insurgents.

Some of those that fled the area that were sighted in Maiduguri on Thursday, said they had to flee the area because of the constant attacks by the insurgents.

One of the displaced persons, Halima Alhaji Adamu, said six members of Hadejia community in Doron Baga were killed and about 100 young men were abducted on Sunday when the members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram launched an attack on their community displacing thousands who are now seeking refuge in some parts of Borno and Yobe states.

She lamented that she also lost her husband in the attack. She claimed that the insurgents are believed to have abducted the young men in order to forcefully conscript them.

According to her, several other communities within Doron Baga and around have also lost many as well as others who were abducted by the insurgents.

She said, “The attack was on Sunday, in my family they killed six people, I don’t know about the other families but the Hadaijawa community which I belong also had 100 of the abducted by the insurgents.”

Speaking on why she and the rest of her family could not take advantage of the refugee camps established in Maiduguri, she said “we are going to our family members in Gashua.”

“I think it is better to go and live with family members than opting for camps. We lost everything we have worked for, and I don’t think the camp will be a better place for us. With family members, we can have the courage to face life again but the camp will continue to make us reflect on our predicament because there is no care as such no focus for one to engage himself or herself into doing something meaningful,” She added.

Source:
Punch Newspaper

Another 'Islamic State' In The Making? Boko Haram Appoints Emir, Imposes Strict Islamic Laws in Captured Gwoza Emirate

Probably emboldened by the successes of 'Caliph' Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's led Islamic State (ISIS) which was carved out of parts of Iraq and Syria, it appears Boko Haram is inching closer to it's dream of creating, foisting it's own 'Islamic State' on parts of northern Nigeria.

Basking on the euphoria of controlling swathes of land in Gwoza and having taken over the the residence of the Emir of Gwoza as well as captured a Government lodge in the town, Boko Haram Islamic Sect is said to have now appointed a replacement for the town’s fleeing Emir.

Sources say Boko Haram’s black flags have been hoisted at different locations in the town as a mark of the sect’s authority. It is also reported that the sect had introduced strict Islamic laws in the seized emirate.

In a related development, with most of their menfolk killed or on the run, women in the town of Gwoza, Borno State, have taken on the grim task of burying dozens of residents massacred in last week’s assault by the dreaded Boko Haram Islamic Sect.

In telephone interviews, two sources in the town said the women of Gwoza were burying men, women and children who lost their lives when a vicious band of Boko Haram fighters descended on the town last week in an orgy of death and destruction.

“We are very fatigued,” one of the women said. She added, “We are almost resigned to fate in our tedious and unusual work of burying scores of dead bodies that still litter our town.”

Another female source said it became necessary for them to bury the dead because “the men in our town and surrounding towns have either been slaughtered or have fled for fear of being killed.”

The source said the town was now peopled by trapped women, little children and the elderly who were spared by the Boko Haram fighters.

A soldier involved in a counter-insurgency operation corroborated the accounts of the situation in Gwoza. He said some women and youths who arrived in Madagali, Adamawa State, after fleeing Gwoza and traveling through the rough terrain of hills painted terrifying portraits for military officials who interviewed them.

A senior military officer told SaharaReporters that the Nigerian Army was drawing up a strategic plan to execute “a multi-dimensional offensive in a bid to dislodge Boko Haram from Gwoza and surrounding villages.”

Source:
SR

Boko Haram: Female Suicide Bombers' Trainer Nabbed Along Side 16 Girls Undergoing Training

The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Kano has arrested a man suspected to be the master trainer of Boko Haram female suicide bombers with 16 females who were reportedly being trained for suicide operations, Daily Trust, gathered from security sources.

It was gathered that the man identified as Ibrahim Ibrahim was arrested in Dala LGA of Kano during a raid by the Joint Task Force Thursday.
Daily Trust gathered that the females were being trained to carry out suicide bombings when the JTF raided their training ground and arrested them and their trainer.

The just concluded Sallah celebration was marred in the state as female suicide bombers struck at five different locations. About 30 persons lost their lives to the female suicide bombers who were believed to be less than 20 years old.

A security source told our correspondent that the plan of the insurgents was to continue using the female suicide bombers to unleash terror on people of the state. The source added that when interrogated, the suspect disclosed that he brought the bombers from Sambisa forest in Borno State.

“He is still being held and interrogated by the JTF  and he is cooperating with the force by divulging vital information about their new strategy of using teenage girls for suicide bombings. I don’t know the exact number of the girls because one of my colleagues who participated in the operation said 13 while the other one said 16,” he said.

A top security source confirmed the arrest but added, “You know we have carried out many recent successful operations recent. I will not like to say much on this latest operation.”

Spokesperson of the JTF in Kano, Captain Ikechukwu Eze, confirmed an operation in Dala local government area.
“There was an operation in Dala where one Ibrahim Ibrahim was arrested alongside some persons. Investigation is still on,” he said in a phone interview.

DailyTrust