Boko Haram and ISIS: World just became more unsafe

Abu Bakr Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, has pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the emir of the ISIS and this can be considered as a major development in the world of terror.

Shekau who heads the Nigeria based Boko Garam thrives on brutality just the ISIS and killing 200 children in a day is child's play for him.

The pledging of the allegiance is yet another incident where terror groups once loyal to the Al-Qaeda are moving away from it.

A staunch Osama Bin Laden loyalist, Shekau moved away from the Al-Qaeda after its chief Ayman al-Zawahiri denounced the Boko Haram terming it as extremely brutal.

What does the Boko Haram ISIS nexus mean?

The nexus between the Boko Haram and the ISIS would have an impact in the Arab Peninsula.‎ The Al-Qaeda which was aiming to regain ground suffers another set back due to this new alliance.

The Boko Haram used to support the Al-Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb‎. The Boko Haram however increased its brutality over the past couple of years which did not go down too well with the top Al-Qaeda leadership.

However, in the ISIS the Boko Haram found a perfect partner as both had very similar styles of functioning. This lethal combination security experts say can only worsen the scenario as the ISIS looks to expand operations.

The message by Boko Haram:

An audio message posted by Shekau on twitter pledged allegiance To the ISIS.‎ Addressing Abu Bakr al Baghdadi as Caliph Ibrahim, the message states, 'we announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims and will hear and obey in times of difficulty and prosperity, in hardship and ease, and to endure being discriminated against, and not to dispute about rule with those in power, except in case of evident infidelity regarding that which there is a proof from Allah.'

‎The ISIS would term this as a major success as it has been making attempts over the past year to cozy up to the Boko Haram.

Last year the ISIS had sent one of its representatives to Nigeria to hold talks with Shekau. The meeting appears to have paid off now.

The deadly cocktail:

The association with the Boko Haram is yet another grim reminder of the reach that the ISIS has today. It is making very successful strides into the sub-continent as well.

It has launched the Al-Khorsan in Afghanistan and has roped in several disgruntled members from the‎ Al-Qaeda, Afghan Taliban and the Tehrik-e-Taliban.

In all these alliances one gets the picture that the bonding has taken place on the basis of brutality.

The alliance is also considered as one of the biggest announcements. The ISIS has been getting support from smaller outfits all these days.

Even the support that they have got from the Afghanistan Pakistan region have been from splinter groups of the Tehrik-e-Taliban.

The Boko Haram which has a deadly network only makes the ISIS a stronger outfit and for the first time an entire outfit has pledged support to the ISIS.

The drug cartel:

The Boko Haram relies heavily on drug smuggling to finance it's activities. The ISIS too has been relying on the cartels from Afghanistan and has earned a billion dollars in the past 12 months.

The Boko Haram alliance only adds to the problem since the outfit has a full fledged network of Nigerians in Goa who peddle drugs for them. The Boko Haram had entered into an alliance with the Dawood Ibrahim syndicate last year to peddle drugs in India.

Intelligence Bureau officials tell Oneindia that the Boko Haram's Indian drug cartel could help the ISIS raise funds for its Afghan operations.