The Washington Times quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on the influence of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham on the terrorist organization Boko Haram:
Shekau also pledged support to al-Baghdadi’s group in a video circulated by Boko Haram in July, and has, in the months since, begun including the jihadi black banner as well as the Islamic State’s de facto anthem, ‘My Umma, Dawn has Arrived,’ to “the musical repertoire on its videos,” said Peter J. Pham, who heads the Africa Center at the Atlantic Council.
“They play it in the background while they’re sawing a guy’s head off,” said Mr. Pham, referring to a video that appeared on the Internet in October showing a Boko Haram member beheading a captured Nigerian Air Force pilot.
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It is most likely that both factors are at play. “What’s happening with Boko Haram right now is a kind of perfect storm,” said Mr. Pham, adding that the group’s ramped-up brutality is clearly tied to Nigeria’s election cycle.