Saturday 11 July 2015

Boko Haram begins ISIS-style beheading as Al-Shabaab plans to join ISIS

Look of horror: A Nigerian soldier is made to kneel in front of three men after he was captured by Boko Haram

The Northern Nigeria terrorists group, Boko Haram has sank to a new low by setting a terrifying new precedent.  It released its  gruesome video of another beheading since it pledged allegiance to ISIS.

Back in march 2015, Boko Haram was reported to have beheaded two individuals.

The new video adopts many of the same style-points as the hundreds of barbaric videos released by ISIS over the last year.



The ten minute-long propaganda video begins with what appears to be an intense firefight against Nigerian soldiers.

Boko Haram fighters exchange machine gun fire with the troops and launch heavy mortar grenades on their locations.

It shows them standing proudly next to the corpses of scorched Nigerian troops - and showing off their security badges to the camera.

The video ends with the senseless murder of a captured African Union soldier. With a look of true horror on his face, the man kneels in front of three masked Boko Haram fanatics - two of whom point AK47s at his head.

The video then cuts to reveal his decapitated body lying motionless on the floor. 



Murdered: The video then cuts to the man, who has been beheaded by the Islamic militants

Islamic State accepted a pledge of allegiance from Boko Haram, who were responsible for the deaths of many Christians in Nigeria  in March this year.

The audio message entitled 'kill and be killed' - released through the militants' vast social media channels - was read by an ISIS spokesperson who also threatened further violence against the Christian and Jewish communities.

The 'west Africa' insignia in the top-left corner suggests the terror group has set up a new so-called media wing in the country.

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Gloating: The video also shows the name tags of soldiers killed in the firefight between Boko Haram and army

Battle: The 10 minute video begins with a shoot out between the extremists and national forces

Mimic: This video is very like the ones Islamic State produce - even down to the logo in the corner

Speaking for his leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the man in the recording says: 'We announce to you to the good news of the expansion of the caliphate to West Africa.

'Our caliph has accepted the pledge of loyalty of our brothers of Boko Haram so we congratulate Muslims and our jihadi brothers in West Africa.' 

MailOnline has also learnt that the Al-Shabaab, the Somali terror group is about to pledge their allegiance to ISIS - which would extend its so-called caliphate to east-Africa.

Al-Shabaab is expected to soon scrap its allegiance to Al-Qaeda and pledge loyalty to rivals ISIS instead.

Islamic State invited the east-African jihadi group to join forces with them through a propaganda video released in March - urging it to wage jihad on neighbouring Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Militants: Somali terror group Al-Shabaab (pictured) could scrap its allegiance to Al-Qaeda and pledge loyalty to rivals ISIS instead



Invitation: Islamic State urged the east-African jihadi group to join forces with them through a propaganda video (pictured) released in March

Territory: Al-Shabaab still controls some territory inside Somalia and has executed 150 attacks on the Somali military in June alone. It has also executed cross-border raids on the Kenyan towns of Hulugho and Mandera - where it slaughtered over 50 peacekeepers in a single attack

Now Al-Shabaab members and sources within the Somali army suggest the invitation will be accepted and the group - which commands around 9,000 fighters - will soon extend ISIS's self-proclaimed caliphate to east-Africa.

The decision comes at a time when many of Al-Shabaab's local and foreign leaders are being killed by commando raids and drone strikes, the group is rapidly losing territory and its money is running out as a result.

Security expert Ryan Cummings says that ISIS' desire to merge with Al-Shabaab is part of its international expansion plan.

'Al-Shabaab is the largest jihadi movement in East Africa, and central to the core mandate of ISIS is the unification of the Muslim world,' a counter-terrorism expert told CNN at the time.

Ryan Cummings added that a merger 'would be a significant ideological victory for the group [ISIS]. It would be massive from a public relations perspective, which is central to the Islamic State's operations.

'The Islamic State still wants to create the perception that it's growing and branching out to various parts of the world.

The only way that it will be able to achieve this will be to have groups serving as an extension in their various areas of operation.' 
However with this development the Islamic jihadists are slowly closing in on Christians in Africa, having set foot in virtually every corner of Africa.






Boko Haram Beheading in March - Nigeria's Boko Haram releases beheading video echoing Islamic State (Reuters)

Nigerian Islamist sect 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.

The film, released on Monday, shows militants standing behind the two men who are on their knees, hands tied behind their backs, with one man standing over them, holding a knife.


One of the kneeling men is made to tell the camera that they were paid by authorities to spy on the militant group, before the film moves to another scene showing their decapitated bodies. It was not possible to confirm the film's authenticity or date.


The footage will raise concerns that Boko Haram, which evolved out of a clerical movement focused on northeast Nigeria, is expanding its scope and seeking inspiration from international militant networks including al Qaeda and Islamic State.


Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has said Boko Haram is allied to both al Qaeda and IS, though that has not been confirmed by Boko Haram itself.


The group previously had links to al Qaeda and though Boko Haram and IS have acknowledged each other, the Nigerian militants have not officially pledged allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.


"(Boko Haram) does refer to its fighters as soldiers of the Caliphate, and pro-IS jihadists worldwide now refer to it as the Caliphate's link in Nigeria," Laith Alkhouri, director of Middle East and North Africa research and jihadi threat intelligence at Flashpoint Partners, said.


Boko Haram has killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds in its bid to carve out an Islamist state in its homeland, and in recent months has increased cross-border raids into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.


The group came to control an area the size of Belgium but the Nigerian army, helped by Chadian troops, has recaptured some territory in the last few weeks.


Nigeria attracted international criticism for postponing its Feb. 14 presidential election by six weeks for security reasons linked to the insurgency, an excuse viewed as political interference.




TWITTER CAMPAIGN

The improved video quality comes soon after the group began to establish a social media presence this year through a communications unit, Al-Urwa Al-Wuthqa. Previously, Boko Haram would leak videos to selected journalists.

The media unit opened its first Twitter account in January. It was shut down and replaced on March 1 by a new one, where it has begun publishing videos and statements in English, French and Arabic.

It would be difficult to determine whether the Twitter accounts are authentic or represent only a faction. But the move mimics IS, which has waged a strong campaign on the platform and had many accounts shut down, Mark Singleton, director of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism in The Hague, said.

"Not surprisingly they are trying to emulate IS where they can," Singleton said, "Beheadings have proven their media value ... apparently that's the way to get people's attention."

After taking over swathes on Iraq and Syria, Islamic State gained further notoriety by posting a video showing the beheading of American journalist James Foley in August followed by several more similar executions.

The Boko Haram film's use of graphics, the footage of black-clad militants with a black flag, and the editing to show only the aftermath of the beheading, were similar to material from Islamic State.

In the video, one of the victims says he comes from Baga in Borno state, and says the other is from Michika in Adamawa state, both areas where the army says it has recently recaptured territory from Boko Haram.

Past Boko Haram films have been much cruder affairs, often featuring a man identified as their leader Abubakar Shekau talking more about local complaints than global jihad. A number of recent releases have included much more gruesome footage of beheadings.

The latest video, entitled "Harvest of Spies", includes introductory animation with streaming computer code on a purple background before the start of the main event.

"(It) mimics the production of many IS videos ... the suspenseful slow motion scenes, the beheading of the individuals after confession of so called crimes, and the multilingual aspect including subtitles," Alkhouri of Flashpoint said.

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