Boko Haram Claims Islamic Caliphate in Largest Captured Town in Nigeria
Boko Haram continues to seize Nigerian towns, the latest one on Monday near Cameroon, according to Al Jazeera America.
Hundreds of soldiers stationed in the town, Ashigashya, reportedly fled across the border to Cameroon Monday night, a police source told AJA.
The Nigerian government responded by saying that they were not fleeing, but instead it was a tactical move.
The government said they were "charging through the borders in a tactical maneuver" when they realized they were on Cameroonian soil, AJA reports.
Police and military are reporting dire condition, including running out ammunition while being faced with well-armed militants.
They did not however, specify if their Islamic caliphate is tied to the Islamic State currently controlling parts of Syria and Iraq.
The change in phrasing was noticed in a 52-minute video released, showing leader Abubakar Shekau congratulating the groupon its capture of Gwoza, which had 265,000 residents in the last census, making it the largest town under Boko Haram control, BBC reported.
Earlier this month, the group raised its flag over the palace of the local leader, the Emir, adding to Boko Haram's control which now consists mostly of the state of Borno as well as nearby Yobe.
"Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic state," Shekau said in the video, according to BBC.
But the Nigerian army refuted the claim on Twitter, according to AJA."That claim is empty ... the Nigerian state is still intact."
Defense spokesman Chris Olukolade told The Telegraph that Nigeria was working to re-secure Gwoza.
"Any group of terrorists laying claim to any portion of the country will not be allowed to get away with that expression of delusion and crime. Operations to secure that area from the activities of the bandits (are) still ongoing," he said, according to The Telegraph.
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