Islamic State claims responsibility for prison attack in Nigerian capital

July 7. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The jihadist group Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) has claimed responsibility for the attack on a prison in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, which has resulted in the escape of several hundred prisoners, including dozens of members of Boko Haram.

ISWA has indicated in a statement that the assault is part of the ‘Breaking the Walls’ operation, launched before its lightning offensive in 2014 in Iraq and Syria, according to SITE Intelligence Group, an agency specialized in monitoring terrorist groups. .

The Nigerian authorities have highlighted that more than 800 prisoners managed to escape from prison, although more than 400 were captured shortly after by the security forces, as reported by the Nigerian newspaper ‘The Premium Times’.

The president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, paid a visit to the area during the day on Wednesday, while the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom have issued security alerts in the face of the leak.

The American Embassy in Abuja has indicated in a note on its website that “an increase in crime is expected in and around Abuja” and has recommended that its citizens “maintain a high level of awareness about their personal security during the next two weeks and avoid unnecessary trips on the airport road.

For its part, the British Foreign Office has updated its travel alert to recommend its citizens “to be even more vigilant in the area” after the attack on the prison, which has caused “the escape of an unspecified number of prisoners” .

ISWA emerged as a split from Boko Haram after the leader of the latter group, Abubakar Shekau, swore allegiance in 2015 to the then leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, after which he was removed from office to appoint another leader, which which led to the split of the group and the emergence of ISWA.

The attacks in Nigeria, previously focused on the northeast of the country – where Boko Haram and ISWA operate – have spread in recent months to other areas of the north and northwest, raising alarms about the possible expansion of these networks. terrorists and criminals.