Prisoner: Foreigners fight in Nigeria's uprising

Extremists from three neighboring countries are fighting in Nigeria's northeastern Islamic uprising, according to an alleged captured extremist whose account reinforces fears that one of Africa's most powerful Islamic militant groups is growing closer to al-Qaida affiliates and that radical movements are spilling across national boundaries.

"We do have members from Chad, Niger and Cameroon who actively participate in most of our attacks," said a young man presented to journalists Friday night by Nigeria's military as a captured fighter of the Boko Haram terrorist network.


The claim of foreign fighters indicates the growing influence of Boko Haram, which started out as a machete-wielding gang and that now wages war with armored cars, rocket-propelled grenades and improvised explosive devices in its mission to force all of Nigeria — Africa's largest oil producer and a country of 160 million that has almost equal numbers of Christians and Muslims — to become an Islamic state. Keep reading