While World Watches ISIS, Boko Haram Declares Its Own Caliphate in Nigeria

[cali]

The leader of the Nigerian terror group Boko Haram has established the world’s second Islamic “caliphate” this summer and is seeking to cement his bloody rule on a territory that is now roughly the size of West Virginia.

While much of the world has been focused on the brutal reign of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the forces of Boko Haram have been racking up victories in northern Nigeria and violently imposing an equally harsh version of Islamic law on approximately 3 million civilians – including beheadings, forced marriages and the forced induction of children into its military forces.

Most recently, the group’s fighters have seized two cities with a combined population of 600,000; nearly surrounded Maiduguri, home to about 1 million Nigerians; and sent government troops fleeing in scenes reminiscent of the rout of the Iraqi army by ISIS fighters this spring.

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Boko Haram’s emir, Abubakar Shekau, spoke of the new Muslim state in an hour-long video released on Aug. 24, after the group seized Gwoza, a mostly Christian city of 300,000 on the border with Cameroon.


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Shekau, a multilingual jihadi responsible for the deaths of thousands of his countrymen, also spoke of killing 1,000 "infidels" in the city on that day alone.

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http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-nigeria-schoolgirls/while-world-watches-isis-boko-haram-declares-its-own-caliphate-n202556

[Laf.La.Dem.]

1. Last week we had a post saying this man (Boko Haram) was killed?

Is he in Nigeria or is he in hell??

[cali]

2. Boko Haram is a group, not an individual

shekau is the leader of Boko Haram. He has not been killed. A top commander may recently have been killed in a battle with the Nigerian Military.

[Laf.La.Dem.]

3. Oops - thanks for the correction!

[msongs]

4. the benfits of religion are apparently endless nt

[riderinthestorm]

5. Two caliphates... Lovely. Just what the world needs.

K&R because Boko Haram needs some serious sunlight shining on these cockroaches.

[cali]

6. Our differing response to Boko Haram and ISIS is interesting.

[riderinthestorm]

7. Instructive as well. The ME has the Saudis and Israel who we deeply care about

Nigeria doesn't, even though its also an oil producing state.

The ME has the oil we care about but Nigeria doesn't? That doesn't entirely explain our outsized interest which brings me back to our old pals the House of Saud and Israel ...

[Initech]

8. The middle east has one thing Nigeria doesn't.

And what Nigeria doesn't have makes it less appealing to our corporate overlords. *wink wink*