Audio says Nigeria's Boko Haram behind abduction of schoolboys

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Dec 15 (Reuters) - An audio message from
a man identifying himself as the leader of Nigeria's Boko Haram
said on Tuesday that the Islamist group was responsible for
the kidnapping of more than 300 students from an all-boys school
in the northwestern state of Katsina.
Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is
forbidden" in the local Hausa language, has waged an insurgency
in the northeast of Nigeria since 2009 but has not previously
claimed any attacks over to the northwest.
The man purporting to be the group's leader, Abubakar
Shekau, offered no proof for the claim. Reuters was unable to
verify the audio and Nigerian authorities did not immediately
comment.
In a region where criminal gangs often rob and kidnap
civilians for ransom, gunmen took the boys from the Government
Science school in Kankara town on Friday. Katsina state
authorities say some managed to escape but around 320 were still
missing.
"We are behind what happened in Katsina," said the man in
the audio, which reached Reuters via a Whatsapp message.
"What happened in Katsina was done to promote Islam and
discourage un-Islamic practices as Western education is not the
type of education permitted by Allah and his holy prophet."
No video footage was released of the missing boys.
Spokesmen for the presidency, police and army did not
immediately respond to messages and calls seeking comment.
Analysts have warned that West Africa's porous borders mean
other Islamist groups operating in the wider Sahel region could
form alliances with jihadists in northeast Nigeria.
Boko Haram carried out the 2014 kidnap of more than 200
girls from a school in the northeastern town of Chibok. Since
then, about half of those girls have been found or freed, dozens
have been paraded in propaganda videos, and an unknown number
are believed to have died.
More than 30,000 people have been killed since Boko Haram
began its insurgency, which aims to create an Islamic state.

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Boys escaped through forest after gunmen abducted their friends
at Nigeria school ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>