The Islamic State (ISIS) militant group has named a new leader for terrorist group Boko Haram. The new leader is Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who was former spokesman for the group, BBC reports.
The Islamic State (ISIS) militant group has named a new leader for terrorist group Boko Haram. The new leader is Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who was former spokesman for the group, BBC reports.
In an audio message, a man who claimed to be the spokesperson for ISIS, said the group’s aim of establishing a caliphate has now been expanded to West Africa. ISIS has a few foreign groups from which it has accepted pledges, including Ansar Bayt al-Maqdisi in the Egyptian Sinai and groups of fighters in strategic areas of Libya. However, following fight back from the Nigerian Army Shekau in an attempt to escape the heat of on-going military operations in North-East Nigeria, reportedly changed his physical appearance to go into hideout. There were also reports that Shekau may have fled Nigeria through the help of ISIS groups operating in East and North Africa. It would be recalled that under the administration of former president, Goodluck Jonathan, the Nigeria military had claimed to have killed Shekau on several occasions but the leader kept returning to shoot down the reports. Al-Barnawi’s appointment is coming after the federal government and army recently claimed that Boko Haram were technically defeated.
This latest development is bound to jolt the Nigerian military which has recorded successes against the terrorist group in the last year. Among other terrorizing activities, Boko Haram is responsible for the abduction of the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls in April 2014. The group’s seven-year insurgency has left at least 20,000 people dead, particularly from the north-east.
