PICTURES: New Photos Show Inside ‘Boko Haram-Controlled Town

The pic above is a screen grab taken from a new purported Boko Haram video released by the sect and obtained exclusively by AFP. It shows Boko Haram fighters parading with about three tanks in an unidentified town they had apparently taken over.

I haven't seen the video but it looks like the guys at PM News have. Below is how they reported it...

It was not possible to tell whether the footage was staged for propaganda purposes, especially scenes of residents cheering Islamist fighters. The message appeared to be aimed at reinforcing Shekau’s claim that he has created a caliphate within Nigeria.

In the 44-minute video, Boko Haram voices support for other so-called caliphates, including the one proclaimed in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State (IS) group. 

"We have indeed established an Islamic caliphate,” he said, restating a call he first made in August.

The images of the sermon include unusually clear close-ups of Shekau, who in past videos has often been shown at a distance, sometimes in grainy footage.

– ‘Support for Islamic brethren’ –

Shekau has previously expressed solidarity with other jihadi groups and leaders, including the IS militants.

In the latest video, he seemed to associate territory under his control with a wider, global caliphate, but did not submit to the authority of any other jihadi leader.

To everyone living in Islamic Caliphate, we convey our greetings,” he said, specifically mentioning “brethren” in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Shishan (an Islamist term for Chechnya), Yemen, Somalia and “the Caliphate in Iraq and Syria.”

A graphic shown later includes a picture the IS group’s leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as well as a portion of the message his group issued on July 1 proclaiming a caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

Source: PM News