Congressional report
says Nigeria's militant
Islamist group Boko
Haram is an "emerging
threat" to the US and
its interests. Boko
Haram has carried out
a spate of bombings,
including in the capital,
Abuja, as well as in
the mainly Muslim
north where the group
originated.
The report said it may
be forging ties with al-
Qaeda-linked groups in
Africa. It comes as
Nigeria's defence
minister said pro-
Gaddafi fighters from
Libya were smuggling
weapons into the
north. The chairman of
the US Congressional
committee which
drew up the report,
Patrick Meehan, told
the BBC that the US
should work to
improve its relations
with the Nigerian
security services. "We
ought to put much
more into developing
local intelligence and
relationships, and
more into cooperating
with Nigerian
authorities to
encourage them to
help us work together
to understand the
nature of the threat,"
he said.
The report, presented
at a hearing of the
House of
Representatives
subcommittee on
counter-terrorism and
intelligence, said Boko
Haram could threaten
the US. "Boko Haram
has quickly evolved
and poses an
emerging threat to US
interests and the US
homeland," it said. The
report added that
Boko Haram "has the
intent and may be
developing capability
to coordinate on a
rhetorical and
operational level" with
al-Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb (Aqim), which
is active in countries
such as Algeria, Mali
and Niger, and al-
Shabab, which is
fighting the weak UN-
backed government in
Somalia.
Mr Meehan said Boko
Haram's "fast
evolution" was
worrying, the AFP
news agency reports.
"While I recognize
there is little evidence
at this moment to
suggest Boko Haram
is planning attacks
against the [US]
homeland, lack of
evidence does not
mean it cannot
happen," he is quoted
as saying.
Boko Haram, formed in
2002, has carried out
multiple gun and bomb
attacks in Nigeria since
2009. In August, it
bombed the UN
headquarters in the
capital, Abuja - its
first attack on a high-
profile foreign target.
Last month, the US
embassy in Nigeria
warned US citizens to
avoid certain hotels in
Abuja because they
may be targeted by
Boko Haram.
But the group is not
known to have carried
any attacks on
Nigeria's oil industry in
the south, although
local militants have
disrupted production
and kidnapped oil
workers for ransom.
On Tuesday, Defence
Minister Bello Haliru
Mohammed said
Nigeria was
strengthening defence
ties with neighbouring
Niger to stem the
flow of weapons from
Libya, Nigeria's
privately owned
Tribune newspaper
reports. "We are very
much aware of the
movement of arms
and explosives that
were stolen from
Libya," he is quoted as
saying.
THURSDAY,
01 DECEMBER
2011 10:58