Nigeria's Boko Haram pledges allegiance to Islamic (IS)
Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to to the flag of the Islamic State (IS), according to an audio statement "promise to the republic for which it stands, one nation under Islamic law, or Sharia.
Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to to the flag of the Islamic State (IS), according to an audio statement "promise to the republic for which it stands, one nation under Islamic law, or Sharia.
The message, which has not been verified, was posted on Boko Haram's Twitter account and is believed to be by the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Boko Haram began a military campaign to impose Islamic rule in northern Nigeria in 2009. The conflict has since spread to neighbouring states.
It would be the latest in a series of groups to swear allegiance to IS.
In the past Boko Haram is thought to have had links with al-Qaeda.
IS took control of large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq last year.
The group aims to establish a "caliphate", a state ruled by a single political and religious leader according to Islamic law, or Sharia. Its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is known to his followers as Caliph Ibrahim.
In the audio message posted on Saturday, the Boko Haram leader purportedly said: "We announce our allegiance to the caliph... and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity.
"We call on Muslims everywhere to pledge allegiance to the caliph."
Analysis:
The announcement by the Boko Haram leader came in a well-produced audio message posted on the internet, with rolling translation from his Arabic to both French and English. Although it was not an elaborate video production like those put out by IS itself, it had many of the IS hallmarks, including an Islamic anthem at the beginning.
The step came as no surprise, given evidence in Boko Haram's propaganda output of growing IS influence on the Nigerian movement, whose ideology and harsh practices mirror those of IS itself.
What it will add up to in practical terms, given Boko Haram's local roots and the geographical distance between them, is hard to see. But from a propaganda point of view, it's a boost for IS, whose presence on the ground in Iraq and Syria is generally stalled and on the defensive.
The announcement by the Boko Haram leader came in a well-produced audio message posted on the internet, with rolling translation from his Arabic to both French and English. Although it was not an elaborate video production like those put out by IS itself, it had many of the IS hallmarks, including an Islamic anthem at the beginning.
The step came as no surprise, given evidence in Boko Haram's propaganda output of growing IS influence on the Nigerian movement, whose ideology and harsh practices mirror those of IS itself.
What it will add up to in practical terms, given Boko Haram's local roots and the geographical distance between them, is hard to see. But from a propaganda point of view, it's a boost for IS, whose presence on the ground in Iraq and Syria is generally stalled and on the defensive.
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