Boko Haram Releases Beheading Video Echoing “ISIL”
Local Editor
Nigeria's extremist groupBoko Haram released a video purporting to show it beheading two men, its first online posting using advanced graphics and editing techniques reminiscent of footage from "ISIL".
The released film showed militants standing behind the two men who were on their knees, their hands tied behind their backs, with one man standing over them, holding a knife.
One of the men was made to tell the camera that they had been paid by authorities to spy on the militant group, before the film moved to another scene showing their decapitated bodies.
It was not possible to confirm the film's authenticity or date.
The footage would stoke concerns that Boko Haram, which evolved out of a clerical movement focused on northeast Nigeria, was expanding its scope and seeking inspiration from global militant networks including al-Qaeda and "ISIL".
Meanwhile, the militants who had killed thousands and kidnapped hundreds in their bid to carve out an independent state in their homeland, had in recent months stepped up cross-border raids into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan declared that Boko Haram was allied to both Al-Qaeda and its offshoot "ISIL", though that had not been confirmed by the group itself.
The Boko Haram film's use of graphics, the footage of black-clad militants with a black flag, and the editing to show only the aftermath of the beheading, were particularly reminiscent of footage from "ISIL", which had seized large parts of Iraq and Syria and killed several hostages.
In the film, one of the men said he came from Baga in Borno state, and the other stated he was from Michika in Adamawa state, both areas where the army declared it had recently recaptured territory from Boko Haram.
Past Boko Haram films had been much cruder affairs, often featuring a man identified as leader Abubakar Shekau talking more about local gripes than global fighting.
However, a number of recent releases had included much more gruesome footage of beheadings.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
Comments
- Related News
