Boko Haram (Photo : Reuters)
Nigeria-based Islamist rebel group Boko Haram recently affirmed its allegiance to the Islamic State. The pledge was made through an Arabic audio message posted on social network site Twitter. The message was said to have come from Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, according to BBC.
The message which was read in Arabic and has an English subtitle stated, "We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims ... and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in hardship and ease, and to endure being discriminated against, and not to dispute about rule with those in power, except in case of evident infidelity regarding that which there is a proof from Allah."
The "Caliph of the Muslims" referred to in the message was said to be Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Awad al-Qurashi who is also known by his more famous name Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State. The pledge of allegiance from Boko Haram is just one of the many supports the Islamic State is receiving from other jihadist faction ranging from Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Africa and various regions of the Middle East.
The Boko Haram is well-known for its terroristic attacks that have plagued the northern part of Nigeria in its aim to create an Islamic state in the region. The group's military campaign has ravaged the region for more than six years and has already claimed thousands of innocent lives and displaced nearly millions who are trying to flee the area.
Days before the video surfaced on the internet, Boko Haram instigated a bombing spree in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri and managed to kill at least 50 people. The attack was staged by female suicide bombers who targeted public markets while other target strategic places like bus stations, according to The Guardian.
