Boko Haram Threatens More

Elombah.com

6 November 2011

Boko Haram Threatens More

[elombah.com] Nigeria's Boko Haram has threatened to carry out more attacks, a day after a series of synchronized blasts and gun battles claimed by the group killed about 150 people in the country's northeast, according to latest figures. The US has also warned that the militant Islamist group is planning to bomb three luxury hotels in Abuja. The five-star Hilton, Nicon Luxury and Sheraton hotels in Nigeria’s capital, which are frequented by diplomats, politicians and Nigeria’s business elite, were identified by the US embassy.

In an unusually specific warning on Sunday, US diplomats have advised their staff to avoid luxury hotels in Abuja. The embassy said the attack may come as Nigeria celebrates the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. Experts say the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for Friday’s violence and threatened more attacks, is working with al Qaeda which could push Nigeria into a Somalia-style civil war.

Ibrahim Bulama, an official from the humanitarian organisation, said on Sunday  that the death toll is expected to rise as local clinics and hospitals tabulate the casualty figures from Friday's attacks in Damaturu, the capital of rural Yobe state.

A spokesman for the Islamist armed group, using the name Abul-Qaqa, promised "more attacks are on the way", speaking hours after witnesses reported "scenes of carnage".

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Split into factions

The AP news agency, quoting a diplomat, said the government was facing an increasingly dangerous threat from Boko Haram, adding that the group had split into three factions, one allied with al-Qaeda's North Africa branch.

It said one faction remains moderate and welcomes an end to the violence while another wants a peace agreement with rewards similar to those offered to MEND, which has been fighting for a greater share of Nigeria's oil wealth.