Islamic State-Linked Attacks in Nigeria Claim 162 Lives
Below is a SOFX Report, Islamic State-Linked Attacks in Nigeria Claim 162 Lives.
Gunmen killed 162 residents in coordinated attacks on Woro and Nuku villages in Nigeria’s Kwara state Tuesday, according to Mohammed Omar Bio, a member of parliament representing the area.
Officials said the attacks were carried out by the Islamic State–affiliated Lakurawa group. Local politician Sa’idu Baba Ahmed added that the group rounded up the victims, bound their hands behind their backs, and executed them.
The state’s governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said in a statement released Wednesday that the attack was a “cowardly expression of frustration by terrorist cells” in response to ongoing military operations against armed extremists in the state.
In a separate incident on Tuesday, gunmen killed at least 13 people in the village of Doma in the northwestern state of Katsina. It is unclear who was responsible for the attack.
Meanwhile, the U.S. confirmed the deployment of a small military team to Nigeria on Tuesday. Officials said the team is heavily involved in intelligence gathering and enabling Nigerian forces to strike terrorist-affiliated groups.
The development comes after President Donald Trump ordered airstrikes on what he described as ISIS targets in Nigeria in December.
General Dagvin R.M. Anderson, head of the U.S. Africa Command said the team was deployed following an agreement between the two countries to take additional action against the terrorist threat in West Africa.
He did not provide further details on the timing, size, or scope of the mission but noted the deployment followed his meeting with Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu in Rome late last year.
Nigeria Defense Minister Christopher Musa confirmed that a U.S. team was operating in Nigeria but offered no further information.
