U.S. places three Boko Haram leaders on global terror list

Washington, United States (4E) – The United States on Thursday placed three Boko Haram Islamic group leaders on the global terror list with a warning that it may blacklist the whole organization if it doesn’t end violence in Nigeria.

The State Department named Boko Haram’s main Islamist cell’s leader Abubakar Shekau and his aides Abubakar Adam Kambar and Khalid al-Barnawi on the list. The men are believed to have close ties with regional the Al-Qaeda group.

“We took this measure to designate these three because they are clearly kingpins of Boko Haram and clearly all of them have advocated terrorism as a weapon in their campaign,” said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

“We’re continuing to look at the question of a broader designation,” Nuland said. “But as you know, Boko Haram is at the moment a loosely constructed group attached to, trying to address grievances in the north,” she added.

Boko Haram came into prevalence in 2009 when it launched an uprising against the Nigerian government, seeking to bring Sharia Law to northern Nigeria.

The group is blamed for about 1,000 deaths since the uprising. The group, under Shekau’s leadership, has also claimed responsibility for several attacks, including last August suicide bombing on U.N. headquarters, in the country. The group’s deadliest attack on northern city of Kano killed 185 in January.

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