The Irish Times – Friday, June 22, 2012
The United States has named three alleged leaders of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram as “foreign terrorists”, the first time it has blacklisted members of the Islamist group blamed for attacks across Africa’s most populous nation.
The state department yesterday identified the three as Abubakar Shekau, whom it called the “most visible” leader of the group, Abubakar Adam Kambar and Khalid al-Barnawi, who it said were tied both to Boko Haram and to al-Qaeda’s north African wing.
“Under Shekau’s leadership, Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in northern Nigeria, its primary area of operation,” the state department said in a statement.
“In the last 18 months, Boko Haram or associated militants have killed more than 1,000 people. These designations demonstrate the United States’s resolve in diminishing the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent attacks,” it said.
The US has signalled growing concern over Islamist extremist groups operating in Africa, particularly al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. – (Reuters)