U.S. Puts Three Boko Haram Leaders on Terror List
The United States on Thursday designated three leaders of the Boko Haram Islamic militant group as terrorists in a bid to stem the mounting violence in Nigeria.
The three named by the State Department were Abubakar Shekau, Abubakar Adam Kambar and Khalid al-Barnawi. But the U.S. stopped short of putting the group as a whole on its terror list.
"In the last 18 months, Boko Haram or associated militants have killed more than 1,000 people," the State Department said in a statement, adding that Shekau was the most visible of the group's leaders.
The two other men were accused of close links to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States.
"Under Shekau's leadership, Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in northern Nigeria, its primary area of operation," the statement said.
Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for a series of suicide attacks on churches in Kaduna state on Sunday that left at least 16 people dead. They also sparked reprisals by Christian mobs against mosques and Muslims that killed dozens.
Frustration over the government's inability to stop attacks by the group has triggered warnings that there could be more cases of residents taking the law into their own hands.
The U.S. designation blocks the men's "property interests subject to U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with or for the benefit of these individuals," the statement added.
Source: Agence France Presse
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