Boko Haram Militants Ally With Islamic State

From Sky News

Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to Islamic State in an audio statement, according to SITE.The monitoring group said part of the message, which has been translated from Arabic, read:

“We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al-Husseini al-Qurashi and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity.We call upon Muslims everywhere to pledge allegiance to the Caliph.”

The pledge of allegiance has been attributed to Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau?, and was released through the group’s Twitter account. 

Ibrahim ibn Awad ibn Ibrahim al Husseini al Qurashi – better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – is the leader of Islamic State. He has already accepted pledges of allegiance from other jihadist groups in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and north Africa.

Boko Haram has staged a military campaign to establish its own Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria over the last six years.