Contrary to claims by Boko Haram that they are in alliance with ISIS, a new investigation has revealed that the jihadist based in the northeast of Nigeria are yet to be recognised by the international terror group.
Experts on the study of the ideology of ISIS and other international terrorists groups, especially those of the Middle East extraction have said that Boko Haram’s professed allegiance to ISIS was rather more of an attention seeking.
Mr Graeme Wood, a US spokesman on counter terrorism said though ISIS may be enthusiastic about having allies from outside their Middle East locale, they still have not looked in the direction of Nigeria.
He further stressed that ISIS has not documented any interest on its budding terror group, Boko Haram.
In an interview with Leadership, Mr Wood said: “I have not spoken to any supporters of ISIS that have made a big deal about Boko Haram; they don’t seem to know much about Boko Haram.”
The US-born journalist, said Boko Haram, for now lacks the dynamics ISIS seeks in foreign fighters normally sourced from Europe, America, and Asia.
“They may be very enthusiastic receiving such allegiance from Boko Haram; but they are not the same kind of dynamics of foreign fighters – that is western fighters, Europeans, Americans, Australians, Japanese, coming to Nigeria to fight for Boko Haram. So I think it is a very different dynamics.”
He noted that ISIS members “do say Boko Haram is not part of ISIS and my focus is on the Middle East; so as I looked into the documents of the propaganda …on borders of their so-called caliphate, they include West Africa. I think they often talk about Boko Haram as an example of how they can expand in the future.”
Source:Naij.com
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