Boko Haram members yesterday dropped fresh pictures of
their terror activities since pledging allegiance to ISIS
leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
More pictures below...
Pictures were taken somewhere in the forests of north-
eastern Nigeria, the images show the terrorists casually
posing in front of the terror group's sinister black and white
flag while brandishing assault rifles.
The slick photographs carry all the logos and artwork
typically seen in official ISIS releases, suggesting the Middle
East-based militants have taken full control of Boko Haram
propaganda.
The release came as Nigerian soldiers backed by warplanes
invaded the Islamist's final stronghold in the country - the
Sambisa forest - in an effort to finally defeat the six-year-
old insurgency.
Over the last six years, Boko Haram have killed thousands
and kidnapped hundreds in a battle to establish an Islamic
caliphate in Nigeria.
Earlier this year the group's leader, Abubakar Shekau,
released a video saying the group had pledged allegiance to
ISIS and would be dropping the name Boko Haram.
Instead they now refer to themselves as Wilayat al Sudan al
Gharbi , which is commonly translated into English as the
'West African Province' of the Islamic State.
Since their ISIS allegiance video earlier in the year, Boko
Haram has not released any official propaganda
photographs or video footage.
Typically ISIS and their affiliates release shocking images of
mass executions or the brutal enforcement of Sharia law
after similar periods of silence.
The fact Boko Haram have returned with little more than a
series of group shots and pastoral scenes is perhaps
symptomatic of the group's rapid decline in influence over
the past months.
Yesterday Nigerian soldiers retreated from Boko Haram's
last known stronghold in the country amid concerns the
militants had booby-trapped the area before fleeing.
Three pro-government vigilantes were killed in the area by a
landmine this morning.
A vigilante and a security source both confirmed the
pullback from the Sambisa forest, a day after an offensive
aimed at rooting out the insurgents.
A spokesman for the military was not immediately available
for comment.
'The soldiers have retreated to Bama because of mines.
They had been on the road but that made them vulnerable,
so they moved to the bush but there are mines planted
there (too),' one soldier, who did not want to be named,
revealed.
The Sambisa forest, a former colonial game reserve, is
about 60 miles from the village of Chibok, from where Boko
Haram abducted more than 200 secondary school girls a
year ago.
'Three of our boys were killed by a landmine as we
progressed into Sambisa. We've suspended going farther,'
Muhammad Mungonu, a member of a pro-government
vigilante, told Reuters.
Intelligence officials believed the girls kidnapped in Chibok
are being held in the Sambisa forest, but U.S.
reconnaissance drones have so far failed to locate them.
Boko Haram controlled an area the size of Belgium at the
start of the year, but have since lost much of that ground
after a concerted push by militaries from Nigeria and
neighbours Chad, Niger and Cameroon in the past two
months.
Yet they remain a deadly threat to civilians, as illustrated on
Friday when they slit the throats of 12 people in northeast
Nigeria as the army was trying to evacuate the area around
the former Boko Haram headquarters of Gwoza.
Failure to crush Boko Haram or protect civilians was one
reason President Goodluck Jonathan lost an election on
March 28 to Muhammadu Buhari, who has pledged to spare
no effort in battling the militants after he is sworn in on
May 29.
Chadian military source said a joint military operation
involving armies from Niger and Cameroon was expected to
begin to encircle the Sambisa forest next week.
Chadians will go in from the Cameroonian border where
they have been massing troops.
(Credits: DailyMail UK) CLICK HERE TO READ FULL AND TOUCHING NIGERIAN CELEBRITIES BIOGRAPHY AND SCANDALS
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