Leader of Nigerian sect that sparked violence that killed 700 praises al-Qaida, threatens US

Nigeria sect leader lauds al-Qaida, threatens US

LAGOS, Nigeria — A leader of a radical Nigerian Muslim sect that started a rampage that left 700 people dead last year has issued a statement mourning the deaths of al-Qaida in Iraq commanders and threatening the United States.

The message by Imam Abubakar Shekau, a deputy for the Boko Haram sect whom police claimed to have killed during the July 2009 violence, comes as the one-year anniversary of the killings approaches. It also shows Boko Haram’s supposed leader reaching out to other global terror groups at a time when Nigerian security agencies remain concerned that the sect is capable of unleashing new attacks.

The statement, issued on a jihadist Internet forum and translated Tuesday by the SITE Intelligence Group, shows Shekau offering condolences to al-Qaida in Iraq over the death of leaders Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. The two men were killed in an April raid by Iraqi and U.S. security forces on their safe house near Tikrit, north of Baghdad.

“By Allah, they rose, did jihad, and fought in order for the faith to be entirely for Allah,” the statement reads. “It was for this that they rose, it was for this that they fought, and it was for this that they died. For that, he really was a master of the martyrs.”

The statement later adds: “Do not think jihad is over. Rather jihad has just begun. O America, die with your fury.”

Boko Haram — which means “Western education is sacrilege” in the local Hausa language — has campaigned for the implementation of strict Shariah law. Nigeria, a nation of 150 million people, is divided between the Christian-dominated south and the Muslim-held north. A dozen states across Nigeria’s north already have Shariah law in place, though the area remains under the control of secular state governments.

Boko Haram sect members rioted and attacked police stations and private homes a year ago this month, sparking a violent police crackdown. Authorities have been accused of killing Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf while he was in custody.

In recent months, rumors about the group rearming spread throughout northern Nigeria. Violence between Christians and Muslims in central Nigeria has left hundreds dead since the start of the year. Those deaths sparked calls from an al-Qaida-affiliated website for a Muslim uprising against Christians.

Though police claim to have killed Shekau during last year’s attacks, a videotaped statement from April showed Shekau apparently acting as the sect’s leader and threatening to unleash new violence.

During the 2009 attack, Boko Haram also was known as the Nigerian Taliban. No direct link with al-Qaida has emerged, even though al-Qaida affiliates operate in North Africa. Analysts have warned that Boko Haram could join the al-Qaida fold, if the group carries out attacks the terror organization supports.