Boko Haram Gets Advice From ISIS On Tactics

Intelligence agencies fear that ISIS, which has set new records in cruelty, may now be offering Boko Haram advice on strategy and tactics, according to a report in a British newspaper yesterday.

According to the quote derived from the British report,

“Intelligence agencies are concerned that what were once symbolic links between ISIS and Boko Haram have now developed into a practical relationship with the Islamic State offering advice on strategy and tactics.”

The newspaper said Boko Haram appears to have been emboldened by its recent gains and was “beginning to operate more like a conventional army in Borno and the neighbouring north-eastern states of Adamawa and Yobe”.

Nigerian military authorities have contested the alleged gains by Boko Haram, saying counter-offensives have been launched to rout them. Security Network (organization comprised of experts and academics) explains that “unless swift action is taken, Nigeria could be facing a rapid takeover of a large area of its territory reminiscent of Isis’s lightning advances in Iraq”, The Independent provides.

According to the paper, “the nature of the threat was further underlined on Monday when a senior politician in Borno admitted that civil life in the state, home to three million people, has all but ground to a halt”.

It recalled that the secretary to the Borno State government, Alhaji Baba Ahmad Jidda, had warned that, while at the moment most parts of Borno State were being occupied by Boko Haram insurgents, “government presence and administration was minimal or non-existent across many parts of the state, with economic, commercial and social services totally subdued. Schools and clinics remain closed”.

It would be noted that talks alleging the close connection between the similarity of activities used by the ISIS and Boko Haram started making rounds after the Nigeria’s sect leader Abubakar Shekau had released the video where he claimed captured Gwoza town part of Islamic Caliphate.

It was reported that Shekau imitated the ISIS moves, carrying out similar executions, kidnaps and finally attempting to establish its caliphate in the seized territories.