Boko Haram pledges allegiance to IS
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – Nigeria’s home-grown Boko Haram Islamic extremists have pledged formal allegiance to the Islamic State group in a message allegedly sent by the Nigerian insurgent leader posted on Twitter and reported by the SITE Intelligence monitoring service.
The unverified pledge posted Saturday comes as the Nigerian militants are reportedly massing in a northeastern town for a showdown with a multinational force that has dislodged them from a score of towns in recent weeks.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau makes the oath in Arabic in a tweeted message saying: “We announce our allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims.” IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has declared himself the caliph.
Police say four suicide bomb attacks hit the city of Maiduguri on Saturday, killing at least 54 people and wounding 143 in the heartland of Nigeria’s northeastern Islamic extremist uprising.
2 suspects detained in Moscow killing
MOSCOW – Russia’s security service head said Saturday that two suspects in the killing of leading opposition figure Boris Nemtsov have been detained. Russian news reports later cited an official as saying one of them had served with police troops in Chechnya.
The short and vague announcement of the detentions by Federal Security Service director Alexander Bortnikov prompted only skepticism and weak satisfaction from his comrades.
Bortnikov, in comments shown on state television, said the two suspects were from Russia’s North Caucasus region but gave no details other than their names.
He said they were “suspected of carrying out this crime,” but it wasn’t clear if either of the suspects was believed to have fired the shots that killed Nemtsov as he and a companion walked over a bridge near the Kremlin on Feb. 27. No charges were immediately announced, but the two were expected appear in a Moscow court on Sunday.
U.S., Europe show solidarity on Iran
PARIS – U.S. and European diplomats said Saturday they are united in their strategy and goal in trying to achieve a nuclear deal with Iran.
“We are on the same page,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said after talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. “We know what we are chasing after, and we are chasing after the same thing.”
Kerry and Fabius, who met with the British and German foreign ministers after their session, cited progress in the talks, with the last round just wrapping up Wednesday in Switzerland. But they also acknowledged big gaps that must be bridged if the sides are to reach a deal by the end of March deadline set by negotiators.
“There is progress in certain areas, but there are also divergences,” Fabius said. He said more work needed to be done on the length of the proposed agreement and on how to verify Iranian compliance.
Associated Press
