The United States today formally named three alleged leaders of the Nigerian militant group Boko Haram as "foreign terrorists", the first time it has blacklisted members of the Islamist group blamed for attacks across Africa's most populous nation.
According to a statement issued by the US Department of State on Thursday, “Abubakar Shekau, Abubakar Adam Kambar, and Khalid al-Barnawi were named ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorists’ under Section 1(b) of Executive Order 13224.
Shekau is the most visible leader of Boko Haram, based in northern Nigeria, Khalid al-Barnawi and Abubakar Adam Kambar have ties to Boko Haram and have close links to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.”
Abubakar Shekau has appeared in a number of videos posted on the internet and social media to affirm the groups demands and claiming responsibility for series of violent attacks.
