Posted by Timileyin Omilana | 27 December 2019 | 1,620 times
The Islamic State West
Africa Province has executed 11 captives, mostly Christians, weeks after it
killed aid workers.
Ahmad Salkida, a
conflict journalist renowned for his monitoring of terrorist activities in
Nigeria’s northeast, said ISWAP the captives were executed “as a revenge for
the killings of our leaders, including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Abul-Hasan
Al-Muhajir in Iraq and Syria.”
But conflict journalists
and researchers, including Jacob Zenn, said “it is possible IS ordered ISWAP to
kill them,” as it had intervened in other hostage situations.”
He, however, debunked
claims by the terrorist group that all victims are Christians.
“Not all 11 of the
victims are Christians as claimed by the group, there were three Muslims and 10
Christians that appeared in the captured video on the 17th December,” Salkida
said in a post on his website.
“The terrorist group
claimed that they spared the lives of two persons that appeared in the earlier
video, but did not give their names.
“However, a careful
assessment of the video revealed that Suwaiba Kashimu from Nasarawa state, and
one other male, were apparently not amongst those killed on Christmas,” Salkida
wrote.
“The decision to execute
the captives was rather swift, abrupt and shocking. ISWAP had reportedly opened
a window of negotiations ostensibly to exchange the freedom of the captives
with those of its members in government custody but the Nigerian government
failed to take the offer.”
The killing comes few
hours after Boko Haram jihadists killed seven people on Christmas Eve in a raid
on a Christian village near the town of Chibok in northeast Nigeria’s Borno
state.
Dozens of fighters
driving trucks and motorcycles stormed into Kwarangulum late Tuesday, shooting
fleeing residents and burning homes after looting food supplies.
Boko Haram and its
IS-affiliated Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction have recently
stepped up attacks on military and civilian targets. (The Guardian)
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