Nigeria: Boko Haram beheadings echoes IS

The Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram released a video on Monday showing militants beheading two men. It’s their first online posting using the advanced graphics and editing techniques associated with IS. Past Boko Haram films have been cruder, often featuring a man identified as the leader Abubakar Shekau discussing local gripes. The latest one preaches ‘global jihad.’ The footage will stoke concerns that Boko Haram, which evolved out of a clerical movement focused on north-east Nigeria, is expanding its scope and seeking inspiration from global militant networks including al-Qaida and IS. Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, said ‘Boko Haram is allied to both al-Qaida and IS’, though it has not been confirmed by the militants who have killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds in a drive to carve out an Islamist state in Nigeria.

Pray: against the spread of terror in Nigeria, and the cross-border raids into Cameroon, Chad and Niger. (Ps.3:7)

More: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/03/boko-haram-beheadings-video-isis