Boko Haram, ISIS collaborating more, U.S. says

NDJAMENA, Chad — U.S. military officials say that two of the world’s most feared terrorist groups — the Islamic State and Boko Haram — have begun to collaborate more closely, raising alarm that they are working together to attack U.S. allies in North and Central Africa.

On Wednesday, Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc, the commander of the U.S. military’s Special Operations in Africa, cited a weapons convoy believed to be from Islamic State fighters in Libya that was headed for the Lake Chad region, an area devastated by Boko Haram.

Military officials described the convoy as one of the first concrete examples of a direct link between the two extremist groups since Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the Islamic State last year. The shipment, seized April 7 near the border with Libya, was carrying small-caliber weapons, machine guns and rifles, officials said.

The disclosure came during a tense series of meetings here in the capital of Chad between Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and top officials like President Idriss Déby who will soon begin his fifth term in office.

Déby said Power had pressed him during their meetings about reports that dozens of Chadian soldiers who had voted for opposition candidates had suddenly disappeared.

“No one has disappeared,” Déby told reporters, standing next to Power after their meeting. “They will be presented to the world on television.”

Gen. Lamidi Oyebayo Adeosun, the Nigerian commander of the regional group of African countries fighting Boko Haram, said military officials were still trying to learn more about relations between Boko Haram and the Islamic State. He said Boko Haram had increased its attacks on soft targets like markets and mosques in recent months, and moved away from attacks on military bases.