With thousands of fighters and some parts of northeastern Nigeria under its control, Boko Haram is believed to be the largest jihadi group to pledge fidelity to the Daesh but terrorism experts say that the practical significance of the move announced Saturday is as yet unclear, The New York Times of Sunday said in a commentary.
Some experts say that the pledge, or “bayat,” made by the leader of Boko Haram is a spiritually binding oath, which indicates that the Nigerian Islamist group has agreed to accept the authority of Daesh.
But as with similar pledges to Daesh by other extremist groups, there are few details about how much direct control the Islamic State leaders have over their distant proxies.
If confirmed, the agreement with Boko Haram would mirror the steps taken by Daesh affiliates in Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Afghanistan and beyond. In each case, a group’s leaders swore allegiance in a public message posted online. Weeks later, the oath was formally accepted by Daesh, in a statement issued by the group’s spokesman.
“It’s quite clear that since at least mid-January, Daesh has had some level of connection with Boko Haram,” said Aaron Y. Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute who tracks propaganda by Daesh. “The key question is whether the Islamic State (Daesh) dispatched individuals from Syria or Iraq, or else from Libya, down to northern Nigeria to help out with operations on the ground, or else with methodology, or in terms of governance activities.”