WASHINGTON — Until recently, the propaganda videos released by Boko Haram, one of the most feared extremist groups in Africa, were an amateur affair. The videos were grainy, shot on hand-held cameras. They tended to feature the group’s wild-eyed leader screaming or shaking his finger at the viewer, as he delivered an incoherent tirade.
That all changed in January, when Boko Haram announced that it had created its own media outlet, with its own logo, and unveiled an associated Twitter account. What followed was a barrage of videos and photographs, mirroring the releases of the Islamic State terrorist group thousands of miles away in Iraq and Syria. The videos were suddenly more polished, shot by what analysts say was a professional cameraman, and branded with the flag of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, as well as the group’s battle anthem.
Since then, each clip has surfaced first on the Nigerian group’s Twitter account and is then promulgated on accounts known to belong to Islamic State operatives, according to three experts who track jihadist activity online.
In Nigeria, more than 200 schoolgirls have been held captive since last April. Some background information on the Islamist group that has been trying to topple the country’s government for years.
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“The sect is still a local problem,” Mr. Pérouse de Montclos wrote in his report.
Adam Nossiter contributed reporting from Dakar, Senegal, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.
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