8th March, 2015
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is expected to release a video accepting Boko Haram into its fold after the Nigerian sect pledge allegiance to the Islamist sect.
Abu Ward Al-Raqqawi, a member of Raqqa, who are the founders and activists in Syrian revolution said the terrorist group will accept Boko Haram in a video soon.
Al-Raqqawi who was one of the first persons to share Boko Haram’s audio on Twitter, said he is working against Al-Asaad and Islamic State. “#ISIS soon to release a video accepting Boko Haram’s pledge of allegiance to the group,” he wrote on his Twitter page after Boko Haram pledged allegiance.
Boko Haram audio recording in Arabic, courtesy Abu Ward Al-Raqqawi.
In an audio recording believed to be from Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau said the jihadists, who have been waging a six-year military campaign in northern Nigeria, were merging with ISIS.
A translation of the Arabic broadcast said: ‘We announce our allegiance to the Caliph… and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity.’
The recording identified ‘the Caliph’ as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS and self-proclaimed caliph of the Muslim world.
The message means that ISIS now has a foothold in Nigeria, as well as controlling swathes of Iraq and Syria and parts of Egypt and Libya.
Baghdadi has already accepted pledges of allegiance from other jihadist groups in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan and north Africa as he seeks to expand their reign of terror.